A Curseless Sea
by magestic
Summary: DMTNT Spoilers! With the trident destroyed, Will Turner is finally reunited with his beloved wife and son to live happily ever after. The joy the Turner family feels can not be taken away by anything. Happily ever after is here. Unless perhaps this isn't really the end of their story, but simply the beginning of another chapter, one where danger still lurks ahead... Willabeth C/H
1. The Beginning of Forever

_Disclaimer: I own nothing from the films, not the characters or anything Pirates of the Caribbean._

Chapter 1 – The Beginning of Forever

 **Elizabeth's POV:**

I had no idea that my life was about to change forever as I sat in my living room reading on our small chair.

"Mother!" my son yelled, running in the door of our small cabin. He'd been gone for quite some time, off on a mission with the navy. Most mothers would be overjoyed at the thought of their son being in the navy. I was not. I'd never told Henry that though. I always acted apathetic towards his navy career. I knew enough to know that the navy was not always a great place. They would kill good men for pity crimes that really hadn't hurt anyone. Now, being king of the pirates I suppose my definition of "pity crimes" was not quite the same as others. Henry didn't need to know that though.

I had raised Henry to believe in justice, but fairness, and to realize that sometimes the wrong choice could be right given the circumstances. That was why I could never be angry when he came home from a navy trip in trouble for something or other as he often did. I couldn't really expect any less of my son and I never would.

Henry had grown up hearing pirate tales about his father, Will Turner, Captain of the Flying Dutchman, from myself and had shown an interest in reading about pirates and mythology of the sea ever since he was a young boy. He was convinced he could find a way to free his father from his curse and allow him to come and live with us for longer than the one day every ten years that his father's curse allowed. As much as a part of me hoped he'd succeed another part knew it was too dangerous and likely impossible. Surely if there was a way to be free of the curse of the Dutchman Davy Jones would have found it long ago when he was the captain. If being in the navy distracted my son from this dangerous mission I could not complain about his career choice.

"Mother!" he yelled again, rushing into our living room. As I said our cabin was small, merely five rooms in size; a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms (one for Henry and I both) and a bathroom. Each room was also very small in size, being able to hold only the bare essentials. We didn't have much money to afford anything better which really was quite fine. I liked to think having such small living quarters made Henry and I closer as he was growing up. There wasn't really any other option anyway, most jobs were considered unsuitable for a woman to be caught doing and with my husband at sea, our only income was the occasional gold my (formerly Sao Feng's) old pirate ship would bring in every few months. Being pirate king had some advantages. Now that Henry was older one could argue that he should too be bringing in some form of income for our family, but being consistently in trouble at work meant he never really gained much of any money from it.

As Henry entered our living room I noticed there was a young brunette woman following him. I wondered who she was, but Henry interrupted my thoughts before I had a chance to ask him.

"Mom!" he yelled again, "We did it!"

"Did what?" I questioned.

"We found the triton of Poseidon and ended father's curse!" he exclaimed, smiling, "He's free, mom! He's free!"

My brain refused to believe my ears. Free? Will was free? Henry had done it? He'd found a way to break Will's curse? He'd been going on about the triton of Poseidon for a while now, but I never thought he'd actually successfully find it and I never thought it'd actually work to break Will's curse.

As I looked at Henry's humongous smile I knew that what he was saying had to be true. He wouldn't make something like this up just to toy with me. "Free," I quietly whispered, as though I couldn't believe it was true until I said it aloud. My heart fluttered in a way it hadn't in years as I whispered once more, "Will's free."

"Yes!" Henry yelled, practically jumping up and down, "If my calculations are correct he should be here by sunrise tomorrow morning and not just for a day this time, mom, forever!"

The young woman beside him smiled clearly happy for both of us, but I didn't really pay her any attention at the time. Free. Will was free. Those three words were all that my mind could comprehend at the time. Will was free.

Henry wrapped his arms around me, pulling me out of my trance-like state. I hugged him back as my eyes began to fill with tears of happiness. "Oh Henry," I cried, "You did it."

Henry left our embrace and put his hands on my shoulder. By that point the tears were pouring from my eyes. "We did, mom," he said and I pulled him into a hug again. "Dad's coming home."

0-0-0-0-0-0

The woman Henry had brought home, I'd found out later, was named Corina. She allegedly needed a place to stay and I willing let her sleep on our living room sofa. Henry excitedly told me the story of how they had worked together with Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbossa to free the triton and end Will's curse. Corina would jump in every now and again to add a fact here or there or argue some point with him. I later learned that they'd left out parts of their story for my benefit like how Henry was possessed by a dead ghost for example. I noticed by the way he spoke of Corina and how the two interacted together that there was clearly something going on between them. In a way they reminded me of a young Will and I. I could barely focus on them though, all my thoughts were with Will and how he would come home the next day.

I barely slept that night with the excitement of the day to come. Will was coming home and not just for a day this time only to spend another ten years away, but for a lifetime. I'm certain that I fell asleep smiling that night, anticipating what was to come.

The next morning, the three of us got up shortly before dawn to head out to where Will's ship would likely come in to land. We could only assume it would be at the same place as where he came when he'd been allowed to visit us on his one day every ten years when he was cursed. Henry and Corina went ahead. I strayed a bit behind. If I were to be honest, it was out of fear. What if somehow Henry's conclusions were wrong? What if breaking Poseidon's triton didn't really free Will from his curse? I was paranoid that I had got all my hopes up for nothing and instead of Will coming on land to spend the rest of his life with us there would really be no one there. I took a deep breathe in realizing I had to face this and find out whether Henry was indeed right or not. Slowly, I headed out towards the edge of our island, far from our little town to the place Henry and Corina probably already were by then, the place where Will might come home.

I walked-scared but excited. Scared that Will might not show up, but excited at the possibility that he might. I didn't know how to feel as I reached the last hill before the edge of the island. I stopped at the bottom of that last hill for a moment, taking a deep breathe in and out. I walked up it slowly, knowing that if Henry was wrong all the hope I had of seeing Will again was about to die. Will would certainly be there by then if he was to come at all.

Then I saw him. He was there! Henry really had saved him!

I began smiling uncontrollably. I didn't even try to fight it. There are moments when the happiness one feels is so real and so overbearing that it can be felt throughout one's entire being. This was undoubtedly one of those moments. Will stopped talking to Henry and stared at me, our eyes meeting. I knew he felt the exact same way that I did, full of happiness that can barely be described.

We ran to embrace. It wasn't until that moment that I really realized how much I'd missed him. All the pain was over now though. Will, my Will, was back and this time to stay.

I wasn't sure whether I wanted to cry tears of relief as I saw him really there or whether to smile because he really was there. Smiling won out as any feeling of relief was quickly abolished by feelings of happiness. My entire being was consumed with a feeling much stronger than happiness. It was joy, pure joy.

I don't think I'd ever been as happy as I was in that moment in my entire life. Some say a wedding day is the happiest day of their life, but while to be fair mine was spent fighting for my life, those people clearly have never been separated from their husbands for long. A wedding day is joyous, yes, but seeing someone you love for the first time in such a long time and knowing that now it's forever, no joy compares to that.

I wish I could put into words how it felt to hold him again, but alas no words are powerful enough. He was back. My Will was back. I couldn't stop smiling. I had never been so happy. He was back and this time he wouldn't be leaving the next day. He was going to stay! I took in every sensation of his touch. My life had never felt as perfect as it did in that moment. I felt his heart beat against mine, something I hadn't last time he visited. That's how I knew it was real. This time was forever. My own heart felt like it could almost burst. It could barely contain the joy I felt. He was back.

I remember thinking in that moment how perfect my life was and how nothing could possibly go wrong; the joy I felt could not be taken away, not by anything. Unfortunately though, no joy can last forever there always seems to be something that gets in the way…

-000-

A/N:

Ahoy mateys! Magestic is back! Seriously, it's been forever. But I saw Pirates 5 last Tuesday and finally seeing our beloved Willabeth together again got me thinking and I could not contain my excitement to write a new fanfic. So yes, it's been forever since I posted a new story, but I'm back and I promise you guys I will not leave for long again until at least this story is complete. How I missed this site! Anyway, Magestic is back! Coming up next we're gonna have some Will's POV and then our real adventure begins. I am so excited to be back on Fanfiction though guys. It's been too long! Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Perfection

Chapter 2 : Perfection

 **Will's POV:**

It started out as any other night on the Dutchman. I was alone on the ships main deck while the rest of the crew were sleeping. Many tend to assume that sleep is something that is optional for immortal, cursed pirates, but just because one isn't able to die from exhaustion doesn't mean we never got tired and needed our sleep. Functioning on lack of sleep was never fun and the Dutchman could be called away to preform it's duty at any moment. Meaning, it was important to get some sleep whenever we could.

As Captain, no one would question me if I put off sleeping for a little longer than the others which is exactly what I was doing that night. It wasn't that I liked avoiding sleep per say; it was that I liked having the alone time to think. Whenever I did so my thoughts would often return to my family.

Needless to say, I missed them. I would have had my day on shore soon, it was less than a year away, but one day every ten years was never enough. What I wouldn't have given to be with Elizabeth right then and there or to see my son one more time. Not because he was trying to drown himself again and expecting me to rescue him though. Once was more than enough of that. He was clearly stubborn just like his mother. I hoped he had listened to me and given up on pirating and stayed away from Captain Jack Sparrow. No good could come from Jack. Though to be fair, I suppose if it wasn't for Jack, I may never have found the courage to tell Elizabeth I loved her in the first place.

I smiled thinking back to that moment. As a young man, I had loved her for so long, but how could I do anything about it? She was so high above my station. It was improper for me to view her as any more than… wait.

My thoughts stopped before I could continue thinking through the memory. Something was wrong, very wrong. What was that? Was it… my heart?

I placed my hand on my chest over where my scar should have been. I immediately noticed two things; one being my scar was no longer there and the other being that my heart was most definitely beating inside my chest. I suppose to a usual person this sort of thing seems normal (feeling one's heart beat inside their chest), but my heart hadn't beaten in over nineteen years. I immediately knew something very odd was occurring.

Before I had time to fully comprehend what was happening, I noticed something else odd. I watched as the ship turned, from the barnacle and seaweed covered mess it had been, into a normal ship.

I reached up and felt the left side of my forehead. My own barnacles, that had recently been there, had disappeared as well. It was as though we were no longer a cursed ship. That was when it occurred to me—Henry.

The last time I'd seen my son was when he had tied rocks to his leg and jumped into the water, nearly drowning, to try and find me. He had succeeded in finding me, but I don't think he received the response he was looking for from me. I was so angry at him that night. The Dutchman was no place for a boy, particularly a living boy, particularly my son. He'd said he was going to find Captain Jack Sparrow so he could find the trident of Poseidon and free me from my curse. That had been over nine years ago though, but could he have actually found it? Was it really more than just a superstitious myth? It had to be. There could be no other explanation. Did that mean… I was free?

My thoughts were cut short as I felt _the_ call. It was a feeling I can barely describe really, but one that any crew member of the Flying Dutchman feels within whenever there are souls at sea on the verge of death. My ship had a purpose and it was time to fulfill it again.

It would be daytime in the world of the living at this time. Time was always backwards between the locker and their world. We had little time to loose. The dying souls would be given a chance to postpone death and join our crew, but only if we got there before they died.

My attention shifted as one the crew called out to me. "Captain?" he questioned, the rest of the crew standing behind him, looking as puzzled as he, "Why has our ship… changed? Are we… are we no longer cursed?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

After completing my duty and answering the call of the Dutchman one last time there was only one thing on my mind—my family. I was finally free from my curse, a freedom I never thought I would feel and all I wanted to do was finally go home.

I bid my crew on the Dutchman goodbye, especially my father, and I finally I was free. I could not hide the smile as I left my ship. I would miss some of the crew members, especially my father, but it would be a lie to say I wasn't overjoyed at the thought of leaving to go home to my family.

As I walked on to the island where I had left Elizabeth right after our wedding night all those years ago, the same island where I had met the son I never even knew I'd left her with ten years later, I can honestly say I hadn't been that excited in years.

A young man ran to greet me. As much as I don't like to admit it, at first I really had no idea who this young man was. He looked to be about twenty or so maybe a tad younger. Then as he ripped off the necklace he wore and began to hand it to me I noticed it's obvious familiarity. It was clearly my necklace, one I had got in Singapore many years ago. It was the same necklace I had given to my son long ago when he had found me and tried to board my ship as a living boy.

In my mind, Henry was still a young boy. I hadn't thought through how he would have clearly grown since I'd seen him last—it had been over nine years. I quickly realized the young man standing in front of me was my son.

He passed me the necklace and my mouth verified what my heart already knew. "Henry?" I asked, already knowing the answer. "Look at you!" I exclaimed, unable to hide my surprise at his growth in the past nine years. He was no longer a young boy at all, but a man. I felt so much pride to look at him. This was my son, my own flesh and blood and here he stood before me a fine young man.

Henry smiled at me. "How did you do it?" I asked. I still couldn't quite understand how my son had actually managed to overcome all odds and end my curse once and for all. I was both impressed and curious.

"Want to hear a tale of the greatest treasure known to man?" he toyed. Of course I did. I couldn't stop smiling. He had grown into such a man. I couldn't wait to get to know him better. I loved my son so much. I only hoped he knew that and now because of him, I could make sure he knew just how much I loved him and would actually be able spend time with him.

"Now that's a tale I'd like to hear," I smiled. This was perfection. I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend my life than with my son by my side. Then as much as I loved my son, I stopped. I saw her, Elizabeth—my Elizabeth.

My heart started pounding within my chest in ways I didn't even know possible. I could think of nothing, but her. It wasn't that I didn't love my son, of course I loved him, but I couldn't stop myself form staring, from wanting to hold her. It was Elizabeth—my Elizabeth!

It wasn't that I hadn't expected her to be there. Of course being free meant I'd get to be with my wife again. _Wife._ What a word. A word I'd barely gotten the chance to use before I was separated from her for so long. She was my wife and she was standing right there!

"Will," she called and I thought my knees might collapse beneath me. My heart pounded more and more as we ran to embrace. This was perfection, Elizabeth right within my grasp with my son nearby. As we finally embraced, I felt the best I had in years. This was where I was meant to be, holding her. Nothing had ever felt so right.

Then suddenly holding her was not enough. I wanted to taste her lips against mine to show her how much I really did love her. It had been too long. As we kissed, it felt as though we had never been apart. I could not have been happier than I was in that moment.

We broke apart from our kiss, but I would not let our embrace stop, not that she tried either. We pulled back just far enough so that we could speak to each other, still holding each other.

"Elizabeth," I whispered, my eyes meeting her own. They were even more beautiful in person than I had remembered.

"You're back," she stated almost as though she didn't believe it herself. I didn't blame her, I could barely believe it either.

I grinned strengthening my embrace. "Back forever," I corrected.

I heard Henry walking closer towards us. I hadn't felt this good in years. To be in my wife's arms with our son nearby; there was no greater feeling.

Elizabeth laughed and pulled away from me just enough to let Henry in turning our hug from a two person embrace into a three person hug.

"I'm home," I smiled, never wanting to let go of either of them. I still could barely believe. It was almost as though I needed to say it over and over again to make it feel real.

I heard a female clear her throat in the background. That was the first time I had really noticed the brunette who had been standing nearby the whole time. I suppose she had been there since I had first stepped foot on the land, but I had been far too preoccupied with my son and wife to notice her.

"Ah," Henry said, as though realizing his poor introductory skills. "Father," he continued, stepping back from our "hug-circle" and gently placing his arm around the girl to bring her forward towards me. "This is Carina. If it weren't for her I never would have found the trident to free you from your curse."

I noticed Carina blush and immediately began to wonder if there was more to this girl than just the girl who helped Henry find the trident. I noticed that there was something to the way Henry looked at her too almost like he was smitten by her. Although I didn't know for sure, it seemed to me like these two were either already or on their way to becoming a little more than friends.

"Carina," Henry continued, "This is my father, William Turner the Second, former Captain of the Flying Dutchman."

Of course he would introduce me like that. It seemed a little over the top in my opinion. He made me sound so great. I supposed he was proud of his pirate father after all.

"Nice to meet you, Captain Turner," Carina smiled as she curtsied.

I noticed her curtsy and wondered where Henry had found a girl like that. He didn't seem like the type to follow rules of propriety, though he was raised by Elizabeth so then again what did I know? There was so much I didn't know, yet longed to learn about my son and now I would finally have the time to do just that.

"Though," Carina continued, "I would hardly say I was the sole reason the trident was found..."

Henry cut her off before she had the chance to finish. "I didn't say you were."

Carina gasped. "You said if it weren't for me you never would have found the trident. That would imply...'

Henry stopped her once more. "It implies nothing," he teased, "It means you helped find the trident and without your help we never would have found it. I never once said you were the sole reason we found it. In fact if it were up to you, I do believe the ghosts you didn't believe in would have destroyed us at sea."

As I watched him grin while he awaited her reaction, any potential doubts in mind about the relationship that existed between him and Carina vanished. It became very clear that something romantic was going on.

Carina huffed. While Henry was still grinning at her frustration, she didn't much seem to be enjoying it. Then as though something clicked inside her mind, I watched her stop and grin similar to the way Henry had been.

"And I do believe," she remarked, "If it weren't for me you would still be possessed by a ghost."

Elizabeth turned around at that remark, leaving my embrace. She stood in front of me, but the one thing she did not do was let go of my hand. It was as though a part of us had to be touching one another at all times just to make sure this was real after spending so many years apart.

"You did what!?" she gasped, looking straight at Henry even though it was Carina who had spoken.

Carina's eyes grew. "Nothing, absolutely nothing to worry about," she began rambling.

I noticed my son was clearly worried. I wondered what exactly had happened on their adventure to find Poseidon's trident.

Carina stopped rambling and spoke slower once more. "What's really important I think, is that all curses are broken now and that," she paused, "Is because of my father."

Henry nodded. "A good man," he added.

"A man," Carina continued, as her gaze flew towards the ground, "I regretfully barely knew."

Henry pouted and I watched as he walked up beside her and slowly, nervously put his arm over her shoulder in what was clearly an attempt to comfort her. I smiled to myself. He reminded me of a younger version of myself, one who was not too comfortable around girls at all. I noticed Elizabeth gaze up at me and smile as she leaned into my chest and instantly knew she saw it too. There was very clearly something romantic going on between these two.

"I'm sure he's in a better place now," Henry said, trying to comfort Carina.

Carina looked up to meet Henry's eyes. "Yes," she quietly agreed. The way she looked at him said a lot. She clearly admired him. I noticed that he looked back at her in the same way. As their eyes met, Henry moved his arm away in an awkward sort of way clearly not knowing how to respond.

Elizabeth and I grinned at each other. I knew she had to be thinking something similar to what I was thinking; he was just like a young Will Turner, a shy young man who fell in love with a Governor's daughter all those years ago.

Elizabeth smiled. "Shall we go have dinner?" she asked.

As the four of us walked together to our home, it was the first time I could really call it my home. Up until then it had been Elizabeth and Henry's home, the home I had seen once nine years ago and that was it. It felt good to have a place to call my family's home, one that not only belonged to them, but myself as well.

Henry and Carina walked in front of Elizabeth and I and I would catch them both stealing gazes at each other at different times, neither wanting to be caught by the other. I smiled at the young, awkward love birds. Awkward as they were, I found so much pride in idea that the man ahead of me was my son. I loved him wholeheartedly. I wanted nothing more than for him to be able to share his life with me.

Elizabeth and I walked slightly behind, neither of us wanting to let go of the other. She leaned into me slightly as we walked and I wrapped my arm around her. Her touch was one I had greatly missed.

I wanted things to stay like that forever, but that was before I knew what that coming night would bring.

* * *

A/N:

So as you can probably tell by now, I've decided that instead of just making this a Willabeth romance it's also going to be a Henry/Carina romance, but I like the idea of still telling it from Will/Elizabeth's perspective. So for now anyway, I'm going to do it that way.

My apologizes if I got any quotes for DMTNT wrong, I'm going by memory here. If anyone has a copy of the script though and want to pass it my way, I would love, love, love that!

Thanks for all the favorites / follows so far! Shout outs to my reviewers as well, you are awesome! Reviews are always appreciated so please R & R ! :D

Speaking of reviewers, to my anon:

Smithy- thanks for pointing out I spelled Carina incorrectly I definitely fixed that in this chapter. It's funny you mentioned my spelling of "mom/mum" too. In Canada, we actually always spell it "mom" instead of "mum," but keeping in mind that most of my audience is probably American I shall try to remember the difference in the future. Thanks for your review though! Hope you liked the Carina/Henry interaction in this chapter.


	3. A Nightmare Begins

Chapter 3: A Nightmare Begins

 **Will's POV:**

As I lay in bed beside Elizabeth everything felt perfect. I was exactly where I was meant to be. I smiled as I recalled my first day back with my family. It had been nothing short of perfection.

After reuniting, my family and I, along with Carina, sat down for our first meal together in years. Afterwards, we sat together in our living room while Henry and Carina told Elizabeth and I the tale of their adventure to find Poseidon's trident and end my curse.

It almost seemed odd to think of it as our living room. I was so used to thinking of it as only Elizabeth's, but no longer was I a visitor in Elizabeth and my son's home. This was my home.

I think that was the second time Elizabeth had heard Henry and Carina's tale of finding Poseidon's trident in two days, but she didn't seem to mind hearing it again. If she felt even close to the way I felt (as I suspected she did) I figured a big part of the reason she didn't mind hearing their story again so soon was because she didn't want to leave my side, not even for a moment.

After spending so long apart, I felt as though I needed to spend every moment by her. I couldn't stand the thought of being away from her any longer, even for just a little while. I needed her. I needed her by my side, within my eyesight, and close enough I could touch her. Based on how close she consistently stayed by me, I knew she must have felt the same way. We were both as in love with each other as we had been on our wedding day, if not more.

It was still strange to me to think that I was free. A part of me expected to wake up any moment and realize it was all a dream, but it wasn't a dream at all. This was my new reality and I was loving every moment of it.

I was amazed to hear the lengths my son had gone to in order to free me from my curse. I had never really wanted for him to turn out a pirate, but I suppose it was inevitable. He did have two parents who were not only pirates themselves, but were even wed during what could be called one of the greatest pirates battles in history.

When Henry had first told me that he intended to find Poseidon's trident to free me, I of course didn't want him to find it. Not because I didn't want to be freed, but I wasn't even sure it was real and knew it would be dangerous. He was a lot younger then though. Now that he was older, I felt a little more at ease about the idea of him heading off on pirating adventures. That didn't mean I was ecstatic about the idea of him pirating though.

Nevertheless, I was proud to call the pirate that sat before me, telling stories of his adventure, my son. I listened to his tale with great intent, amazed. He truly was the son of Elizabeth and I—a pirate who refused to give up.

After Henry and Carina finished telling their tale, Henry asked me to tell him stories of my life on the Dutchman.

"There really isn't much to tell," I sighed.

"But you were Captain for nearly two decades," Henry protested, "Truly, you must have some stories."

I sighed. I felt Elizabeth tighten her grip on my hand.

"Captaining the Dutchman," I explained, "Is about helping those lost at sea to move on. The dying are given the option of joining the crew and if they should choose not to they, along with any souls who die before we arrive, are brought to the locker. If anything the job is rather depressing at times. You have the freedom to sail the sea for all eternity, but you do so while cursed and are consistently surrounded by death.

Helping others to move on has it rewards, but while cursed it hardly seemed worth the cost of everything I gave up."

Henry nodded slowly.

"But you're not cursed anymore," Elizabeth smiled, "All that's in the past."

I smiled in response.

Henry shook his head slowly. "If only I'd found Jack sooner," he frowned, "I could have saved you from your curse earlier."

"Henry," I shook my head, smiling,"I never thought you'd actually be able to free me from my curse at all nor did I want you to, knowing how dangerous it would have been, but... you did free me. And that's all that matters."

Henry nodded, smiling as well. "I'm glad you're back, father."

I felt my own smile grow. "Me too," I nodded, as I left Elizabeth's side for the first time that day, moving closer to Henry. "I love you, son," I said, hugging my boy.

I felt Henry return my hug. "I love you too, dad. I'm so happy you're finally home."

"As am I," I replied, "As am I."

0-0-0-0

I think a part of me was scared to fall asleep just in case my day really had been a dream. I rolled over to look at Elizabeth sleeping beside me. She had been completely exhausted from getting up so early to greet me again and fell asleep almost immediately after crawling into bed. She was so beautiful sleeping there. I smiled. It was perfect. I rolled back over onto my back and quietly let sleep overcome me as well.

I awoke after what must have only been a few hours. I heard something, no someone, walking towards our bed. As I quickly came to, I realized who it was—Davy Jones. I both heard and saw his claw-like hand snapping closed. He was coming for me. I didn't know why, but I didn't have time to figure that out. I was in danger and more importantly so was Elizabeth!

I jumped up in bed, scared practically to death. One does not mess around with Davy Jones! Then I realized something, I hadn't actually woken up yet. It was only a nightmare.

I took a deep breath, calming myself down. I rolled over and checked around my entire room just to make sure I really was safe, as one often does after awakening from something that feels so real. I quickly concluded that it was indeed just a dream, but my nerves were still a little rattled within me.

I rolled towards Elizabeth and grabbing her arm, pulled her into an embrace. Still asleep, she hugged me back. I needed the comfort she provided. Holding her assured me that Jones wasn't really there. He was only a figment of my imagination. I quickly fell back to sleep in the comfort of Elizabeth's arms.

The next morning though, I noticed something terrible; something that made me question just how real my dream of Davy Jones had been.

I woke up before Elizabeth, a sea captain was always up with the sun so I suppose that was to be expected. I immediately felt the need to use a chamber pot, but as I got up to do so I noticed something on our bedroom floor, something that should not have been there. Barnacles. There were literal barnacles on the bedroom floor, right where the Davy Jones figure in my nightmare would have been standing.

I knelt down and picked one up to be sure they were real. There was no doubt in my mind. They were barnacles alright and they were definitely real. I had them all over the side of my face during part of my curse. I knew them better than anyone.

"Will?" Elizabeth stirred, "What are you doing?"

I quickly threw the barnacle under the bed where she wouldn't see. "Nothing," I quickly responded. As she slowly awoke I pushed the other one that was there under the bed as well and rose to my feet.

I did contemplate telling her the truth, but I didn't want to frighten her. I wasn't necessarily happy to lie to her either, but until I had a better idea of what was going on there was no need to worry her. It could be nothing, perhaps they were just a couple left over barnacles from my curse. I doubted it though. Something definitely seemed off.

Before she could ask any more questions a knock on the bedroom door interrupted us.

Although I was still wearing my nightclothes, which consisted of a loose white shirt and pants, I opened the door knowing that the only possible person on the other side would either be my son or Carina. Elizabeth didn't have any servants. I wondered if it was because she was too poor or if she had chosen not to have any herself. I remember thinking that I should probably be getting a job soon so that we could have a little more money for our family. I didn't figure I'd be able to get a high paying job or anything, perhaps just some low income work at a local smithy, but it would be better than nothing.

Either way, as I opened the door I wasn't too worried about who would be on the other side or the indecency of them seeing me in my nightclothes. My son was family so that did not matter and I didn't think Carina would have much interest in a man old enough to be her father, particularly a man who was the father of her—or what I hoped would one day be—her romantic partner.

Henry greeted me on the other side of the door. "Good morning father!" he exclaimed, "I made you and mum breakfast!" He was clearly still very excited to have his father back.

I smiled. "We'll be out in a moment."

0-0-0-0-0

We'd spent that day in the nearby town on the island. Elizabeth and I had watched in amusement as Henry had shown Carina around. He clearly had feelings for her. Everything he did seemed to be a foolish attempt to impress her. She played along, acting almost unamused, but then smiling and blushing whenever he looked away.

"How long has he known her?" I asked Elizabeth as we stood just out of ear shot of them.

"Not long," she answered, "They only met on the way to find the trident."

I nodded.

"They do make a good couple though, don't they?" she asked, "She compliments him well."

I chuckled. "I'm not sure they'd appreciate being called a couple."

Elizabeth shook her head. "You know, I do remember there once being a man who greatly reminded me of Henry, a young blacksmith's apprentice who was too shy to be called a couple as well."

"Yes," I grinned, knowing she meant me, "But if that young blacksmith got the courage to eventually tell the woman of his dreams how he felt, perhaps there's hope for our son after all."

Elizabeth smiled, shifting her gaze from Henry and Carina to myself. "Yes," she laughed, "Perhaps."

As we continued through town, I took note of where the smithy was.

"I think I'll like to apply there for work," I told my family.

"You know how to work in a blacksmith shop?" Carina asked.

"Yes," I explained, "Before my pirating days I was the town smithy."

Henry made a face. "I'd rather be a pirate."

Elizabeth answered him for me stating almost exactly what I was thinking. "A blacksmith's work is a lot less dangerous."

"And a lot less fun," Henry frowned.

"I wouldn't mind sailing again," Carina said, "Perhaps it would help me connect with my father. But first I would like to purchase some more books on star navigation. I think it would be good to have a course planned out somewhat in advance."

"Then I'd join you on your course," Henry stated.

"Who says I'm inviting you," she teased.

Henry looked shocked for a moment then smiled. "You need me."

"Do I, now?"

"Yes," he grinned, "No shop around here is going to be caught dead selling astrology or horology books to a woman. If you don't want to get accused of being a witch again you'll need my help. And if you don't have my help, maybe this time you won't be so lucky as to have a rescue party come for you during your hanging."

That statement shocked me a bit and I could tell by Elizabeth's expression that it had done the same to her.

"You were almost hung?" she asked.

"Yes, apparently," Carina angrily remarked, "Our society doesn't value a woman with education."

"I wouldn't say the whole society feels that way," Henry argued, "I for one, greatly value an educated woman."

Carina blushed. "Thank you," she whispered.

Henry blushed as well and the both of them sort of stood there awkwardly for a moment starring at the ground in front of them.

"Did you want to," Henry asked, ending the momentarily silence, "Take a look at some of the dresses in the store over there? I noticed you've been wearing the same dress since we landed back at home and perhaps afterwards we could look into buying some of those books you wanted."

Carina shrugged. "I don't really have any money at the moment to purchase any. You'd be surprised how hard it is for a woman to find work without being accused of sorcery."

"I have some I'd saved up from one of my naval jobs," Henry answered, but before he could finish his statement Carina cut him off.

"I don't need your charity," she argued.

"Don't think of it as charity then. Think of it as a gift—a gift for helping me find my father."

"I think," she objected, "The fact that you helped me find mine means we're even."

Henry sighed. "Carina please. Let me at least buy you one other dress and your books. If you don't want to think of it as charity then you can pay me back someday whenever you can afford it."

Carina smiled. "I suppose… if I could pay you back one day… then it'd be alright."

Henry smiled and led her to the dress shop nearby.

"Do you have any need for a new dress?" I asked Elizabeth.

She shook her head. "No, but I should get some food from the market vendors. Come with me?"

I wanted to, a part of me wanted to spend every single moment by her side, but there was something else I had to do.

"Elizabeth," I requested, "It would seem I too have something to buy that I may need to borrow money for."

Elizabeth smiled and handed me some money without a second thought. "What's mine is yours," she smiled, "No borrowing necessary."

"I'll meet you back here in a bit," I smiled as I kissed her goodbye.

A part of me hurt to be without her, but there was something I needed to buy.

0-0-0-0

As we arrived home from the town that night, Carina was carrying a new dress and a couple books that she had borrowed money for from Henry. Henry had offered to carry them, but Carina was insistent that she could do so herself. She definitely seemed like she could really be stubborn at times, but then again it almost seemed like Henry could as well. Henry and I were both carrying some of the food Elizabeth had bought for the next day. I had my special purchase hidden.

We had stopped to eat a picnic dinner together on the way home on top of a smaller hill that overlooked the water. It was the same spot Henry, Elizabeth and I had eaten dinner the night I had been able to visit with them for my one day on land every ten years back when I was cursed. Henry had been so much younger then. Never had I thought I'd get the opportunity to do so again merely nine years later instead of waiting another ten.

After the picnic I figured it was time to reveal my special purchase. "Henry," I said as we neared our home, "Do you think you can take the rest of the food and perhaps you and Carina could head home together to put it all away in the ice box and the cupboards? I have something I need to show your mother."

Henry nodded and grabbed the food I was carrying. It wasn't much since food didn't last for prolonged amounts of time in iceboxes, but it was enough that ideally two people would carry it. We were almost home though and Henry seemed strong enough to handle a little extra baggage for the small walk that was left.

Elizabeth smiled at me as Henry and Carina walked off.

"Come with me," I said, leading her to the beach by our home where we could be alone. She did as instructed.

"Do you remember this beach?" I asked as we arrived.

The setting sun shone in Elizabeth's eyes. "Yes," she smiled, "It's why I had our home built so close by."

We both knew it was the same beach where we had spent our wedding night. It had been secluded at that time, but overtime small homes had started to build up along it, not many though and there was a great amount of space between each home.

I knelt down on one knee in the sand. "Elizabeth," I said, loving the way her name rolled off my lips. "Many years ago I spent the most wonderful night of my life here with you. But between dying and everything there was something I never had time to do."

Elizabeth's smile grew as I pulled my special purchase out of my pocket. Her hair was blowing gently in the wind. She looked absolutely beautiful.

"It isn't much," I said, opening up a small box, "I'll get you a nicer one in time once we have more funds, after I've started work again, but for now, Elizabeth, will you accept this ring as a token of my undying devotion to you—a devotion that to this day and forevermore will still remain true?"

"Yes! Yes!" Elizabeth shouted in acceptance.

I stood up and placed the ring on her finger. It wasn't much, just a simple band with a small jewel on it that quite likely wasn't even real. I was sure she had received finer jewelry before as the Governor's daughter, but I planned to get her a nicer one once I had some money saved up for it. After getting arrested on our wedding day, she had never had a real wedding ring and now I thought she deserved it.

She reached to hug me and as she did so I lifted her up and twirled her around. She laughed as I put her back down.

"Will," she said, leaning her head in towards my own. I leaned closer and our lips met. The kiss lasted for minutes. As much as we had kissed the day before, both Henry and Carina had been nearby probably watching and that kiss was much more intimate without them there.

A few moment later I broke the kiss, needing to breathe. "Elizabeth," I sighed, my forehead rested against her own. "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled, "Never leave me again."

I smiled. "I don't intend to." Once again I felt the space between us close as I felt her lips against mine.

0-0-0-0

Eventually, we left the beach to head home. One thing led to another and before I knew it I had forgotten all about the barnacles I'd found that morning or the nightmare I'd had the night before. I was far too busy with Elizabeth to contemplate things like that. There are privileges one has in marriage that we had not had merely enough time to partake in, but that night we did and again my life felt perfect.

That is, perfect until I woke up later that night.

I could hear voices—loud voices. They were chanting, "Part of the crew, part of the ship! Part of the crew, part of the ship!"

I knew I'd heard that before. It was when I'd come to after blacking out on the Dutchman, after Jones had stabbed my heart with his sword, after I'd stabbed his heart, after dying.

"Part of the crew, part of the ship!" they continued chanting. I still couldn't see any of the bodies that these voices were coming from, but I then recognized them as the voices belonging to the crew of the Dutchman. "Part of the ship, part of the crew!"

I thought perhaps this was just another nightmare and not real at all like the night before. That's when I remembered the barnacles I'd found in the morning. I began to panic a little. If it was a dream I needed to wake up and wake up right away!

"Part of the ship, part of the crew!" the chanting continued.

Elizabeth stirred beside me. No. If she woke up then that could only mean one thing, this was probably real then.

"Part of the ship," they continued, getting louder, "Part of the crew!"

Elizabeth jumped up beside me. "Will what's happening?"

They stopped. I shook my head. "I have no idea."

Then I heard perhaps the scariest sound I'd heard in years—Davy Jones' laugh.

"Will!" Elizabeth yelled, her face turning pale.

The laughter stopped. Our room returned to the quite state it had been before the chanting had started, but there was no doubt in my mind that something was most definitely wrong.

* * *

A/N:

Hi readers, not going to lie this chapter was a little hard to write for some reason. I actually ended up scrapping the entire thing halfway through and restarting. Hope you all liked how it turned out though. I'm actually really having a lot of fun writing two romances in one (WE & HC). I've never actually done two in one story before like this, but I'm loving it so far and hope you guys are too. I'm really amazed by all the followings this story is getting so far.

Also, thanks to all my reviewers from last chapter! You guys are absolutely amazing! Many of your reviews were so kind! Seriously, you guys make my day a little bit brighter! :)

Thanks for reading! Review please :D Thanks!


	4. A Turner Family Secret

Chapter 4: A Turner Family Secret

 **Elizabeth's POV:**

Hearing the crew of the Dutchman chanting would have been scary enough, but now on top of that I could hear Davy Jones laughing. I felt like I was going to be sick. Jones was the one man I feared the most. He was the man, if you could even call him a man that is, who had killed my husband. I would never forget how it felt to watch Jones stab his sword into Will's heart and then twist it around. It was awful—the worst thing I had experience in my life. Jones could not be back.

"Will!" I yelled. Normally, his presence alone made me feel secure. When I didn't know what to do I would yell his name and he would always have an answer. Even during our time apart, when in trouble I would often ask myself 'what would Will do?' and then react to the situation accordingly.

I could feel my heart racing within my chest. My breathing was heavy and rapid.

Jones laughter stopped. You'd think that would have be enough to cause my breathing and heart rate to return to normal, but it wasn't, not yet. I reached over to the small table by my bedside. I fumbled past the books on there, throwing them on the floor without a care and grabbed my tinder box and match. I quickly pulled out the flint and steel and struck them together to ignite a spark. I grabbed my match which was nothing more than a stick dipped in sulphur and a candle that was also sitting on the bedside table, lighting it. I quickly closed the flint and steel back in the tinder box, knowing the fire would go out by itself in there and picked up my candle. It was of course in a holder and thus not too hot to touch.

I quickly waved the candle everywhere within my reach while still sitting on my bed. There was nothing there. I got up and began to wonder around the room with my candle to make sure there was nothing or no one hiding. The moonlight did shine through the window, but that didn't mean there still weren't dark corners throughout our room that I wanted to quickly check for well… I'm quite sure what I was looking for exactly.

While I was wondering around the dark corners with my candle I noticed Will get up and put on his pirating clothing, the ones he had been wearing when he returned home merely two days ago.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, checking the last corner of the room. There was nothing there. Whatever had been there was gone, if anything even had been there that is. Perhaps there really were only noises and nothing physical. I hadn't seen anything. I brought the candle back to my bedside, but did not dare blow it out. If something was going to show up, this time I wanted there to be light. It helped me feel more secure.

I quickly pulled a dressing gown on top of my nightdress. I don't know why, I supposed it was simply out of habit. I thought it a little improper for even my son to see me in my nightdress, but my husband had certainly seen me a lot less covered.

"Where are you going?" I asked my husband who at this point was completely dressed and tying on his bandanna.

"Away," he said with little emotion.

"What?" I asked in a panic, "Away where? Why? What was that? Will, what is happening?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "But whatever that was it was after me, not you. For both Henry's and your own safety it's best I leave."

Anger filled my entire being. How dare he even suggest leaving after we had just been parted for so long. There was no way I was letting him go.

I gritted my teeth. "We don't even know that was real," I argued.

"Jones is clearly after me, Elizabeth. You and I both know how dangerous he is, I don't want Henry..."

I cut him off before he could finish giving any lousy excuses about leaving. "Jones is dead!"

"Then why is the second night I've heard him in here?"

I could feel my face burning. "The second night?! You mean you heard him last night and you didn't bother to tell me!?"

"I thought it was just a dream, but now that you've heard him too it can't be."

I bit my lip. Will grabbed his coat. I rushed over to him and pushed his coat out of his hand and back on the chair. He was not getting away so easily.

"Elizabeth stop," he protested.

"You are not leaving that easily," I argued, not moving my hand off his coat. "Not after being gone so long, not after everything Henry risked to free you. Not when we don't even know what or who this enemy is that we are dealing with."

I wondered then if Henry would know what was going on. He had spent so much of his life studying the seas and pirate curses. I didn't have a chance to say any of this out loud though because Will stopped my thoughts.

Will gently shoved my hand aside and grabbed his coat then he turned to leave out our bedroom door.

I quickly grabbed a sword from the place I kept it hidden under my bed just in case of emergencies. One can never be to careful especially as Pirate King. I wouldn't have really hurt Will and I'm sure he knew it, but there was no way I was letting him leave without putting up a bigger fight.

I pulled my sword out of its sheath. I'm sure he heard the noise it made and knew exactly what I was doing. He was a pirate after all.

I drewmy sword towards him. "Step away from the door, Mr. Turner," I ordered.

He turned around. He clearly wasn't afraid of me, probably because he knew I wouldn't actually run a sword through him.

"Elizabeth," Will said, shaking his head, "Whatever that was, it's after me, not you or Henry. Both you and Henry were happy before without me, you can be happy again if I'm gone and most importantly you'll be safe."

I lowered my sword, not because I thought he was right, but out of pure shock. My sword suddenly felt far too heavy to hold up. I frowned. I could feel my eyes wanting to water, but I didn't want to give in to the tears that so desperately wanted to poor out. This was not a good time for that.

Will turned toward the door again.

"Were we?" I whispered, no longer being able to find my voice through the tears I was fighting back.

"What?" he asked, turning back around.

"Were we happy without you?" I asked again.

Will paused then he spoke once again. "You had a good life here. Henry was raised here. You're able to make ends meet even if you aren't rich. Henry even has a girl now and you have him."

I felt a few tears beginning to run down my face. I didn't want to fight them anymore. Will was my husband, I shouldn't have had to hide my emotions from him.

"I love my son," I answered, crying, "And I raised him the best I knew how, but … there was always something missing. That something was his father, my husband. And now you expect after everything he did to free you, you can just leave again and everything will be fine?

Will, my heart ached for you every single day you weren't with us. Do you know how hard it was to not have you here as Henry came across every important milestone in his life? Do you know how hard it was when he'd come home from spending time with the local children disappointed that he didn't have a father like they did? Do you know hard family holidays were when half of our family was out at sea?

Henry risked everything to save you from your curse. He's been obsessed with the idea of freeing you for as long as I can remember. Do you know how hurt he would be if you just took off two days afterwards? He wouldn't forgive you, Will and quite frankly I'm not sure I would either.

You have no idea how much pain it caused me to live without you, Will. How much it hurt every single night to go to bed alone or having to wake up every single morning without you by my side. Do you know what it felt like when I wanted so desperately to tell you something and you weren't there to tell? When something terrible happened and all I wanted to do was be held, but there was no one to hold me? When I would dream of your death and wake up alone without anyone there to comfort me?

Don't you dare say we were happy just because we learned to manage without you, Will. Don't you dare!"

Will just stood their speechless for a moment. I placed my sword back in it's sheath and tossed it on the ground. I wiped a few remaining tears from my face as I calmed myself.

"I..." Will stammered, finally breaking the silence, "I just don't want to put you in danger."

"Will, I'm the Pirate King," I argued, "I've been in danger before and I'll be in danger again. I can handle myself. I'd rather be in danger with you than safe without you."

"But what about Henry?"

"Henry?" I asked, making a point, "The boy who fought pirates to free his father from a curse? The boy who is the offspring of the Pirate King and the Captain of the Flying Dutchman? The boys who's parents certainly wouldn't be stubborn enough to leave him all alone until they figure out what exactly is going on with Davy Jones and what exactly is coming after them? … I think he'll be fine."

Will nodded. "I suppose you make a good point."

I smiled. I walked towards him and leaned into his chest. I loved to hear his heart beat, especially since there had been a time when I would lean into his chest and heard nothing.

"Will," I said just above a whisper, "The day after you died you gave me your heart." I pulled out the necklace I had worn every day since then, the necklace with the key to the chest that used to contain Will's heart before Henry freed him from the curse,and leaned back just far enough so he could see it. "You trusted me with your literal heart," I continued, "Now trust me with it figuratively as well. Whatever happens, we're together in this now."

I felt Will wrap his one arm around me while he used the other to gently nudge my head back against his chest. I smiled. I knew he finally understood and wouldn't leave. I felt his second arm wrap around me as well as he leaned to kiss my forehead.

"I love you, Elizabeth," he whispered, "Forgive me for ever thinking of leaving you."

"I already have."

"I only want to keep my family safe."

"Then help us keep our sanity by never leaving again," I smiled.

Will hugged me tighter. "I won't."

I stood there for a bit simply embracing the moment. Then my thoughts returned to Jones again.

"Will?" I asked, "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," he answered, breaking away from our hug. "I don't even know whether Jones is alive or dead or why exactly it is that we heard him last night."

I noticed the sun starting to rise outside. We had been up for quite awhile. Then I remembered what I had thought of earlier.

"Perhaps," I cautiously suggested, "Henry could help."

"What do you mean?"

"Henry's spent his whole life studying pirates, the sea and pirate curses," I explained, "If there's anyone who knows if Jones could be alive or not, it might be him."

Will nodded. "No wonder he ended up a pirate."

I shrugged. "Ever since I told him his father was Captain of the Dutchman there was no stopping him."

"Did you even try?" he teased.

I shrugged again. "Not really."

0-0-0-0

After I was properly dressed, we decided it was best to get both Henry and Carina up right away. It was nearly sunrise so they would likely be getting up soon anyways and neither Will nor I wanted to spend any more time than necessary in the room where we had earlier heard the laugh of our greatest enemy.

We got Henry up first and after explaining what had happened during the night, asked if he had any idea of what was possibly going on. Unfortunately, he didn't.

He was anxious to wake up Carina though and see if she perhaps knew anything, arguing that she was a well educated woman and perhaps had heard of something. His argument didn't really make sense and it made it seem a lot more like he just wanted to wake up Carina and let her know what was happening rather than actually expecting her to be very helpful.

Henry woke her and found she was very displeased at the idea of him waking her up, arguing it was improper for a boy to wake a sleeping female. I could have cared less about propriety at that point. She was in a house full of pirates, what did she expect? Yes, I had tried to raise Henry not like a pirate, but as a gentleman instead, but there are times when, for all I care, propriety can hang!

Henry quickly explained what was going on to Carina and got her up to speed.

"I know someone who might be of aid," Carina admitted.

That I had not expected.

"Who?" Henry asked.

"There was a witch," Carina explained, "I've never meant her, but I'd heard rumors—rumors I thought were rubbish at the time mind you, not believing in such things as magic. However, if magic is real, which one could argue it likely is..."

Henry cut her off. "Likely is?" he asked, shocked, "Do you not remember watching Poseidon's trident end all curses or anything else of our adventure?"

Carina rolled her eyes. "Can you blame me for wondering if I perhaps only dreamt it?"

"Then why would you be here now?" he asked.

Carina blushed. "Anyway," she stated, changing the subject, "I do believe it's quite likely this witch would probably be a great source of information."

I smiled. There was hope after all. I felt so incredibly lucky that Henry had brought Carina home.

"Great!" Henry exclaimed, "Then we'll head to where this witch is!"

"Have you no fear at all?" Carina asked, "Here you are talking about going to visit a witch like it's something you'd do just any old day?'

Henry laughed. "I'm not afraid. Are you?"

"'Course not," she shook her head. I wondered if a part of her was lying though, she didn't look very convinced of that herself. "Now, the place where I heard of the witch is a bit of a distance away," she continued, looking directly at Henry, "It's in the town where we met actually. You remember?"

"How could I possibly forget meeting a woman like you?" he responded.

Carina blushed.

"That means," she said, looking at Will and I this time, "We'll need to get a boat."

"That's not a problem," I said, "We can easily buy a boat."

Both Will and Carina looked at me puzzled.

"With what money?" Will asked.

I smiled, forgetting he didn't know yet. "Will?" I teased, "Do you want in on the Turner Family secret?"

"You mean aside from the fact that the father is Captain of the Flying Dutchman?" he joked.

"Well," I grinned, "Perhaps our family has more than one secret."

I caught Henry's eye and nodded, knowing he'd know exactly what I meant. "Henry," I ordered, "Why don't you get the candle from my room. We'll be needing it." He nodded and did as told.

"Will, Carina," I called, "Watch and learn."

I walked across our living room and pushed my reading chair aside. I then lifted some of the floorboard that sat underneath where the chair had been, revealing the Turner, or one of the Turner, family secrets—a secret passageway.

Henry came back with the candle and I used it to light the way. The floorboards lifted to reveal a stairway. I walked down the stairs to the bottom which led to a dirt, uncompleted room. Inside the room there was only a desk (with some paperwork on it as well as a quill and ink), a chair, a stack of papers on the ground and some candles on the wall. That was where I did all my pirate negotiations and writings. As Pirate King there was always some work to be done, but it was work I did not want the villagers knowing about. I wasn't sure how they would respond to knowing I was the Pirate King, but I suspected it wouldn't be good. That was why Henry and I lived so simply not because we needed to, but to disguise my true job from the village as to not raise suspicion. It would truly not be very believable that a young widowwith a son, as the townsfolk thought I was, could have had such a great income, as I truly did.

I pulled on the candle on the wall. It wasn't a real candle at all, but merely an entry to another secret passageway. As the candle was pulled, a hidden door that was camouflaged into the wall opened on the far side of the small room. I walked through it as the rest followed. Henry went last and shut the door afterwards. That was our rule, if either of us were to go down there we would always shut the door behind us so hopefully if anyone secretly followed, they would not find the secret door. One of the objects I used to hide beyond it was far too precious to risk loosing.

We continued onward through the passageway and opened another door at the end of the hall. I walked through that door and quickly grabbed the sulphur stick I always left near the entryway. I used my stick to take fire from my candle and light all the candles along the walls of the room to reveal what I had hidden. The entire room was filled with gold, jewels, coins, weapons, shields and a chest that up until recently had held Will's heart. His heart had been why I was so cautious about keeping the door shut after entering. I could not risk loosing it. Now, Will's heart returned to his chest, I no longer had to worry about that of course, but closing the door after entering could never hurt.

Will and Carina both gasped in amazement. This wasn't new to Henry. He'd known about the Turner family secret gold stash for a few years now. I'd even shown him his father's heart once when it had still been beating in the chest.

"Elizabeth?" Will gasped, "Where did you get all this?!"

I shrugged. "Pirate King."

Will looked confused. "And here I thought you were broke."

"A diversion," I explained, "Do you know what people in this town would do if they knew our family associated with pirates?"

Will shook his head. "And here I bought you a cheap ring," he whispered so only I could hear.

I smiled. "It's the thought that counts," I whispered back.

"And you never said anything?"

I shrugged. "I like my ring," I said admiring it, "And I wasn't about to ruin the moment by announcing we were secretly rich."

Will sighed.

"This is more gold than I've ever seen in my entire life!" Carina exclaimed, nearby.

Henry grinned.

"And you let me think you were doing such a great gesture," she said to Henry, "Buying me a book and a dress. You could buy thousands of dresses with this!"

Henry frowned. "I wasn't sure how mother would have reacted if I let you in on our family secret," he explained, "If you want more dresses I'll buy you more dresses. I would have bought you more then, but you barely even let me purchase the one you got."

Carina shrugged. "So your mothers a Pirate King and your father was Captain of the Flying you have some secret second life too?"

Henry laughed. "No, not yet anyway."

"Good, let's keep it that way for now. It's bad enough I'm spending time with the son of the Pirate King and the Captain of the Dutchman. How on earth do I manage to get myself mixed up with these kind of people?"

"Destiny?" Henry suggested, "Your father was a pirate. It's in your blood."

"Yes," she frowned, likely at the memory of her father. "I suppose it is."

"Plus, I think you have to admit," Henry continued, "As long as you're with us your life's sure to be anything, but boring."

Carina smiled. "Maybe I like boring."

"When I meant you, you were wanted and suppose to be hung," he argued, "Nothing about your seems to like boring Miss. Barbossa."

Carina grinned, laughing.

"Barbossa?" I asked, noting the name. I noticed that Will was clearly in deep thought over the mention of Barbossa as well and wondered why exactly.

"You knew him?" Carina questioned.

'A lot better than I may have liked to,' I thought, but daren't say. She seemed to think rather highly of her father and it wouldn't be appropriate. Plus, Barbossa wasn't always a bad guy. He was just a typical pirate, changing sides as he saw fit.

"He married Will and I," I explained. It was mostly true. In a sense I suppose we'd also married ourselves, but he'd also been there as a key officiator and pronounced us husband and wife.

"He did?" she asked, clearly amused.

"Yes," I nodded, "He did."

Carina smiled.

"So," Henry interrupted, after a few moments of silence had passed."What do you say, Carina? Are you willing to follow in your father's footsteps and sail the seas with two pirates and their son?"

Carina blushed. "You mean three pirates," she flirted, "But, I suppose the youngest is a rather amusing man even if he is a pirate."

I watched Henry blush in response.

"Shall we then?" I asked, grabbing some of the swords and shields I was storing in our secret room and passing them out.

"How good are you with a sword," I asked when I got to Carina.

"Good enough," she shrugged.

"'Good enough' is not good enough when the enemy is in some form of allegiance with Jones," I corrected, "Henry, once we set sail, you'll teach her how to fight."

Carina almost looked offended at my comment, but she didn't argue. I wasn't sure if that's because the knowledge that I was Pirate King scared her a little or because she probably liked the idea of Henry working with her. I figured it might be a little bit of both.

I grabbed enough coins to buy food and supplies for our journey as well as a ship and put it all in a small bag. We probably could have commandeered a ship, but it just seemed better to pay for one since we had the funds available plus then if we ever did return to the island we wouldn't be wanted for our crimes, not the ones we committed on the island anyway.

* * *

A/N:

Yay it's updated! :D I am having so much fun writing this story guys. It's been great to see so many awesome reviews and story follow as well. Please keep the reviews coming!

Also, couple things I want to address. First, special thanks to this website I taught me how candles / matches worked during the time that Pirates is set in (historical hussies blogspot, it won't let me link directly for some reason) I really hope I got it relatively accurate. Secondly, I'm getting a few reviews about Jack and whether or not he will appear, and I will say this; I already have a basic plan of where this story is heading in my head and actually tons of notes on my computer about future chapters so whether or not Jack will appear is already pre-planned and will be revealed soon. Remember though this is primarily a Willabeth story and especially with them being our key narrators, romance will happen whether Jack or any other character likes it or not. Thirdly, some people commented on the financial circumstances of the family not making sense. I think this chapter probably cleared that up a lot, but remember too the last few chapters when they really talked about money were in Will's POV and that is why there was concern about money. He didn't know about Elizabeth's secret stash. Guess her being pirate king slipped his mind, maybe he just wanted to imagine her giving up piracy altogether, maybe we'll reveal that in another chapter, you never know.

Anyway, guys please review, I love hearing all your opinions. Next chapter should be up in a week or less.

And to acknowledge my anon-reviewers:

Valentina- thanks so much for your compliments! That was so kind! I shall try to update at least once a week. I hope you like the new chapter too!

Smithy – I hear you about, Jack. I don't yet want to reveal whether he's coming back or not, but if he does things like that look will be addressed in a Willabeth style or maybe he just won't come back at all. Thanks for reviewing!

She-elf – thanks for your review! Im really glad your liking the W/E and H/C bits. They're sometimes hard, but always fun to write. I hope this one lived up to your expectations as well.

German-girl – Thanks for reviewing! I hope you liked the moments in this chapter as well.

I hope I didn't miss anybody and if I did I am incredibly sorry, but definitely read and appreciated your review regardless. Thanks everyne! R&R :)


	5. Second Kiss

Chapter 5: Second Kiss

 **Will's POV:**

The journey to find this witch that Carina had heard of turned out to be much longer than I had expected. It wasn't that the journey was necessarily a long one as much as that it felt long after spending so many years being able to teleport myself to any desired location in moments. Being Captain of the Dutchman did had a couple advantages, I suppose. Overall I wouldn't go back to it though, not for anything. I would rather be with my family anyday.

Buying a ship had been easy. Elizabeth and Henry lived in a relatively smaller village and even though she had kept relatively secluded, living towards the outskirts of town, everyone seemed to know of her even if they didn't know her directly. The rumors about who I was had already started after our day out in the town together. Although they didn't know exactly who I was there was one thing no one who had seen us together doubted; Elizabeth and I were clearly lovers. I worried it would hurt Elizabeth's reputation to some extent, appearing to be so close to someone to whom she wasn't married as far as the villagers knew. She wasn't worried about that at all though. Elizabeth was always thinking ahead.

She told them that her long lost husband whom she had been told died at sea was rescued off a deserted island. According to her story, I survived off the land and had lived alone on the island for many years after a shipwreck of which I was the only survivor. I was found only recently by a passing ship that saw a fire signal I had created. After being found, the ship I was found by stopped in London, England. There I was able to write my wife and son, letting them know of my survival. It was of course unexpected and Elizabeth didn't even know if she could believe it herself. I suspected that part was the only true part of the story, her being shocked to hear I was living and breathing.

Anyway, as Elizabeth's story went, after stopping in England I collected the inheritance my father had left me there. That explained the money Elizabeth had suddenly come by in order to purchase a ship. Henry came home of course upon hearing that his father (that as far as the villagers were concerned he had never met) was alive. Now I longed to sail again, but I would not make the mistake of leaving my family behind. I marveled at how great a liar Elizabeth could be when given the opportunity. The whole thing seemed believable enough and it seemed as though the villager who sold us the boat was satisfied with it.

"How long do you figure this journey will take?" I asked Elizabeth. Her and I were alone near the helm of the ship. She was in command of the wheel and I was leaning against the left side of the railing that started at the wheel and continued a little further along in a "u-shape" on both the left and right of the it, separating the helm from the rest of the ship. Henry was helping Carina brush up on her sword fighting at the other end of the deck, both completely out of earshot.

"You'd have to ask Carina or Henry that," she answered,"I've never been to Saint Martin."

I nodded. I figured I didn't urgently need an answer. There was definitely no land in site so whatever my answer was it would not be "soon."

I put my arm on the railing I was leaning against and used my strength to pull myself up on the railing I had been leaning on and sat on top of it, my legs dangling over the edge.

I noticed Elizabeth bite her lip. Her eyes gazed towards the clouds and her head was slightly tilted to the left. I knew that look well. She was clearly concentrating on something and knowing Elizabeth that something was not just about steering the ship.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

Her gaze shifted back towards me and her head returned to it's former straightened position. "What do you think about Carina?" she asked out of nowhere.

"Was it not you who said she compliments Henry well?" I asked, referring to our prior conversation the day the four of us had gone to the village together.

"Yes, and she does," Elizabeth smiled, but her smile turned into a bit of a frown as she continued. "But that's what worries me."

"What do you mean?"

Elizabeth sighed. "What if something happens to her? Look at them over there," she said, nodding towards Henry and Carina, "She's not a terrible fighter, but she's not… she's not great either."

I looked towards where she had been looking. Henry was teaching Carina to sword fight alright, but Elizabeth was right she wasn't that great. She wasn't entirely terrible. Henry would swing at her a couple times and she'd block him, but it seemed every time he'd eventually strike her in a way she hadn't expected and she wouldn't react quick enough to stop it.

"She'll learn," I said, trying to be reassuring.

Elizabeth frowned. "But how long does she have to learn? I don't want Henry to have to endure the heartbreak I did when you died."

I frowned, but nodded in understanding. I watched as Henry and Carina continued practicing sword fighting in the distance. One could maybe argue that she was getting better… slowly… then again maybe I was just trying to be optimistic.

"Do you think he loves her?" Elizabeth asked, taking my focus off the two of them for a moment and back to her again.

"Henry?" I asked.

"Yes, Will, Henry," she rolled her eyes, "Who else?"

I sighed. "I barely even know him," I admitted, just above a whisper, starring at the ground.

Elizabeth frowned. "Oh Will," she cried, "You'll get to know him. We have all the time in the world now and..."

"Do we?" I asked angrily, cutting her off.

"Will?" she asked, worried.

"Do we really have all the time in the world?" I asked, taking my frustration out on her. "Jones could be on our trail. Is he alive? Is he dead? I don't know, do you? What's he after?"

"Will," she said, stopping me mid-rant, "Thinking that way won't do us any good. We have to remain positive."

I sighed. She was right, but that didn't stop the worries in my head.

I sat there for a moment in silence, as did Elizabeth. Her gaze was back on the clouds. I wondered if she was still worrying about Carina and her sword fighting skills or lack thereof. I wondered if Henry did love her. I wondered how she felt about him in return. I wondered if they'd have a chance to let it be known or if we really were making a huge mistake and taking our son and his whatever-she-was on an adventure that would cost them greatly, as the last adventure Elizabeth and I had gone on together had cost us.

I wondered if Elizabeth had a point. Perhaps bringing Carina and Henry along wasn't a good idea after all. If Henry did love or even just have any sort of feelings for Carina, I didn't want them to have to be separated the way Elizabeth and I were or perhaps even worse, separated forever with no hope of one day every ten years even. Saint Martin wasn't that long a journey, we probably didn't really need four people aboard our ship. Certainly four was better than two, but maybe the risks did outweigh the advantages. I didn't want to spend time apart from my son, yet I also didn't want to see him hurt.

Before I even knew what was happening, I noticed him and Carina beside me, interrupting my lost thoughts.

"I think she's improving a lot," Henry smiled, looking at Carina.

"I don't think she's ready for any battles yet though," Elizabeth responded, not even making eye contact with him.

"I think I could stand my ground," Carina argued.

"Pride is a great swordsman enemy," I argued, "He who thinks he can't be beat will be. It's the one who realizes he can be beat, who fights harder, with greater caution and because of it, wins in the end."

Carina nodded though I wasn't very convinced she understood. She looked puzzled.

"We were thinking," Henry mentioned, changing the subject, "We might turn in for the night. Then we'll take the helm in the morning so you and dad can sleep then."

"Turning in in separate beds," Elizabeth practically demanded. Pirate King or not, there was a lot of her father in her still.

"Yes!" Carina gasped, clearly appalled. Then she grinned in a very flirtatious way as she eyed Henry. "He'll have to do more than that if he ever stands a chance at sharing my bed," she muttered.

Henry blushed. She seemed a little frustrated with him. I didn't quite understand why exactly. Perhaps their sword fight training hadn't been going as well as it seemed from afar.

Carina began to walk away towards the stairway leading under the deck. Henry looked from the ground to Elizabeth then back to the ground again and then towards Carina. He took a deep breath and yelled at her. "Carina wait!"

She turned instantly. Then stopped herself and turned back around.

"Carina!" he yelled again. He ran up to her, grabbing her arm, stopping her from going under the deck. "Carina!"

"What?" she yelled back, turning angrily. They were close enough to hear, but not close enough to touch—the stairs to the lower part of the ship being about six arms lengths or so away from the helm.

"You think," Carina continued, yelling, "You can just mumble some line about how Jack Sparrow was right about one thing and kiss me afterwards then go on pretending like it never happened and everything will be just fine like it doesn't..."

She never did finish her sentence. Henry kissed her instead, stopping her.

I almost felt bad watching. This seemed like a rather private moment and here I was observing. I learned two things from what I'd overheard though; one being that Henry and Carina had kissed before and the second was that somehow Captain Jack Sparrow had had something to do with it or was somehow involved.

I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I didn't much like the idea of my son having anything to do with a pirate as dangerous as Jack. Not that Jack himself was dangerous, but spending time with Jack always seemed to mean some sort of mortal danger was nearby.

I looked at Elizabeth, feeling awkward about watching Henry and Carina kiss especially as their short kiss seemed to turn into something a little deeper. Elizabeth was smiling like the proud mother she was indeed.

"So," I said, quiet enough that Henry and Carina wouldn't hear, "Let's avoid any sword fights for the time being."

Elizabeth chuckled a little. "I think we can manage to do that at least until we reach Saint Martin. Perhaps we should leave them on the ship then and go ashore ourselves?"

I sighed. Moments ago I would have thought about doing something similar, but if Elizabeth and I were to be completely honest with ourselves we both knew that was not a good idea.

"You know that won't work," I sighed, "Neither of us know the area. I think the best thing we can do is let Henry keep working with her on our way there and if some sort of fight should happen in Saint Martin we'll have to make sure we have her back."

Elizabeth nodded. "If she survived pirates before and managed to help steal Poseidon's trident and end all curses she can't be that helpless."

I nodded. "She'll be fine."

In the distance, I noticed Carina say something inaudible to Henry as she slowly walked down the stairs leading to under the deck. Henry nodded back and said something in return, also inaudible from where I was sitting. He stood there watching until she had completely disappeared below deck.

Henry was still smiling as he practically skipped back towards Elizabeth and I. "I think she really likes me," he smiled.

Elizabeth laughed. I shook my head, laughing to myself silently as well.

"Oh, is that why she kissed you?" Elizabeth joked.

Henry blushed. "You saw that?"

"Did you think we were blind?" she joked again.

Henry continued blushing and looked at the ground as some of his hair fell in front of his face. "I swear I really did set out only to find you, father," he sighed, looking up at me for a mere moment before continuing to stare down the ground again. "It just… it just happened."

I smiled, surprised he even felt the need to justify it. "There's nothing to be ashamed of," I corrected.

"I'm not ashamed of her," he answered, making eye contact with me for longer this time as he pushed his hair out of his face. "Just, I set out to free you, father. I should have only been focused on that, nothing else… but Carina… she..."

I nodded.

"She's… she's so different than any other girl I've ever met," he continued, "She makes me feel just… just… I don't even know if I can describe it really…"

I felt my smile grow. "I know exactly what you mean, son."

Henry smiled. "Do you like her?" he asked.

I was a little surprised to hear him even caring about my approval. As much as it pained me to admit, we did barely know each other.

"Of course I like her," I answered, "Your mother and I were just saying earlier what a great match the two of you make."

"Really?" he asked, shocked. "You too, mom? You like her?"

"Yes, of course, I do," Elizabeth answered, "I wouldn't have let her come along otherwise."

Henry sighed. "Good. That's really good." He paused for awhile before continuing and took a deep breath then exhaled. "Because I think I'm falling in love with her."

* * *

A/N: eek it's like hours past my bedtime right now cause I work the early morning shift, but I just really wanted to get this up for you guys tonight. I know it's short, but some real adventure is coming next chapter. I promise I read and loved all your reviews last chapter and normally this is the part where I'd tell you all how much and address people individually, but it's seriously over 2 hours past the time I wanted to go to bed at, but I really just wanted to get this up tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow. So I apologize for not responding to reviews, but know that I read them all, your reviews all make me super happy and you are all awesome!


	6. A Witch

Chapter 6: A Witch

 **Elizabeth 's POV:**

Had I really heard him right? 'I think I'm falling in love with her,' he'd said. My son was falling in love. I was so happy for him. I'm sure I was smiling like some sort of fool. I looked towards Will and noticed him smiling as well. Henry was growing up.

It was as though his whole life flashed before my eyes in moments. I remembered him as a newborn, rocking in my arms as he fell asleep. I remembered him as a young toddler wanting to hear more and more stories about the Captain of the Dutchman, not even knowing this captain was his fatherr—I hadn't told him that until he was a little older. I didn't think he'd understand or know how to keep a secret at that age and I worried what would happen if he ran around telling the people in our village about his undead-zombie father.

I pictured a still young, but slightly older, Henry playing with the village children running through mud puddles. Then when he was older still I remembered telling him about his father and how he was the hero I'd told him of in his childhood stories and Henry's mouth gasping open at the astonishment of it all. I remembered telling him how much I loved his father and him saying he could probably never love someone like that, especially a girl since they were gross. I remembered telling him he'd change his mind someday and him arguing he never would.

I remembered the first time he met his father. How excited he'd been. I remembered panicking when two years later, he ran away leaving nothing except a note saying he was going to find his father. He was so young then to go off adventuring on his own and especially chasing after some pirate captain even if it was his own father. I remembered him coming home a few weeks later and not being sure whether I should yell at him or hug him. I decided to hug him as I cried, relieved that he was safe and later lectured him about never doing anything like that again.

I remembered missing Will on those long, cold nights alone and a young preteen Henry coming in to hug me telling me Will and I would be together again one day.

I remembered him telling me he'd joined the navy and the sorrow I'd felt at the thought of him leaving. I let him go though. It was time. He wasn't a child anymore.

I remembered those nights all alone, this time with no Henry to comfort me. I remembered him stopping at home between trips with the navy and telling me of his crazy adventures and how much trouble he'd gotten into. I remembered him leaving again with them. Then I remembered him coming back… with a girl, Carina. The girl he now loved, or "thought he was falling in love with." My son was all grown up.

I'd thought all this in mere moments. "She's a great woman," I smiled, looking at my son before me. He was no longer a child, but a grown man.

Henry smiled, but I watched as his smile left and his eyes shifted downwards then quickly resumed their former position. "You're not going to tell her are you?" he asked.

Will shook his head before I could respond. "Of course not," he laughed.

"Good," Henry said, relieved. "She'd kill me if you told her first."

I rolled my eyes wondering to myself why he would ever worry that we would.

~0-0-0-0-0~

We'd spent the rest of our trip to Saint Martin very similar to the way the first day had gone. Henry and Carina would work on her sword fighting whenever they got the chance. We'd rotate who was at the helm so each of us got a chance to sleep.

Sleep wasn't necessarily easy for Will and I to come by after the nightmare about Davy Jones that we had experienced at our home. We managed though, with a candle left on overnight just in case. That was completely my doing, but Will hadn't objected to it. It helped me feel secure and it helped us sleep at night. Oddly, we weren't awakened by any nightmares of Jones on our journey. I was unsure whether or not that was a good thing.

It didn't really hit me how dangerous our journey really was until we reached Saint Martin. That was when I felt that all too familiar feeling of fear overcome my body. I would not give into it though. Even though the nightmares had stopped, there was no telling what they meant or how long until they possibly returned. This was Jones we were dealing with, there was no room for error.

Carina's sword fighting skills were improving, but she still wasn't ready for any great battles. I hoped we weren't falling into Jones' trap or anything. No, that was ridiculous, Jones wouldn't be on land, would he?

I sighed. It was time to be brave.

"We're here," I whispered, biting my lip. No one heard me though, both Will and Henry were helping Carina with her sword fighting. Normally, it was just Henry helping her, but Will had decided to join in for a bit that day.

"Land ahoy!" I yelled, loud enough for them to hear me this time.

Will nodded and put his arm with his sword in it down, placing his sword in it's sheath. Carina moved towards him with her sword.

"Got ya!" she yelled, happily.

"That doesn't count," Will laughed.

Henry laughed along with him, shaking his head.

"Come on," Will order, "We have to get ready to make port."

~o-o-o-o-o-o~

We made port with no problems. It was nearing night time when we arrived, but still light enough to see to dock. There were docks we were able to land our ship at, for a price. Of course money really wasn't a problem at all for us so we paid and went on our way. We quickly ran into a new problem though. Carina didn't know exactly where the witch could be found even though she had heard of her.

That wasn't a big problem though. When trying to find a witch, the best sources of information are pirates. Pirates always make a point of knowing these sort of things and the best place to find pirates on land is wherever there is rum so we began to search the area for a bar.

When we arrived at the bar though Will quickly pulled us back into a darker corner.

"What is it?' I asked.

"You two," he said, looking towards Carina and Henry, "You were in Saint Martin before?"

"Yes," Carina answered.

"This is where we first met," Henry explained.

"And did you know about that?" Will asked, pointing towards a wall along the side of the bar.

I looked up and saw exactly what he was pointing at. The wall had a bunch of wanted posters, mostly for pirates and other fugitives, but within those posters I saw exactly what Will was talking about. There on the wall were three posters of people I knew. One was for Captain Jack Sparrow and that I could have cared less about, but the other two were what really matter right then. There on that wall was a wanted poster for both Carina and my son, portrait and all.

"What exactly did you do here?" I whispered, as to not draw attention to ourselves.

"We need to get out of here now," Will ordered, "Move. Go."

Will shooed us out the door. It's a good thing that the bar was only dimly lit. It was also a good thing we had arrived later in the evening, as the sun was beginning to set. At least that way it would be harder for anyone to recognize them.

"Stay behind us," Will ordered Carina and Henry. "Don't make it obvious you're trying to hide. Walk normal now."

"Where are we heading?" I asked.

"To buy two cloaks for them to wear to hide under," Will answered as we continued walking.

"At this hour?" Carina asked, "Somehow I doubt any stores will be open."

Will sighed, stopping. He stood for a moment looking straight ahead, clenching his jaw. A minute later he smiled. "A problem only for the poor," he grinned.

Will and I left Henry and Carina to buy some cloaks from them. They stayed hidden in a darker, abandoned alley. Will had warned them to stay out of harms way and keep undercover. I worried they wouldn't listen, but to my surprise they actually did.

We bought their cloaks from a nearby home. We offered enough gold for them that no one would be stubborn enough to say no to our offer, but also asked them to ask no questions.

Will had also intentionally picked out one of the poorer looking homes to buy the cloaks from, arguing that they were likely more in need of the extra money than some of the richer families in the town. I personally found it rather attractive how he cared to still think the good of others while we were in the middle of a potential battle against Jones, looking for a witch in hopes of finding answers about said battle, and our son and the girl he liked were wanted criminal in the very town we were in.

We brought the cloaks back to Henry and Carina and they used them to cover themselves without being too obvious. The bar wasn't incredibly well lit anyway so that would definitely help. They both had their cloak hoods up as we returned to the bar, them walking directly behind Will and I in hopes of using us as coverage to make it harder for anyone to recognize them just in case.

When we returned to the bar we quickly surveyed the area and noticed some men sitting in the back, right corner who looked like they might be pirates. We approached them and asked if they knew anything of the witch. They had told us that they might be able to give us some information on the witch, for a price. I noticed Will was about to offer them some money as I saw him reach into his pocket, but I was not going to give money to pirates unnecessarily. I asked them if they were really willing to keep information from the Pirate King herself, knowing that would certainly have consequences.

All I had to do to prove I was Pirate King was show my necklace, the one Will had given me, the one with the key to the chest that until recently had contained his heart. That was all the proof they needed. Any good pirate knew that the key would only be held by the Pirate King herself. Stories got around the pirating world rather fast; stories about the Pirate King, her husband who captained the Dutchman, and the necklace she held onto, one that made her identifiable to others.

Upon realizing who I was the pirates told us exactly where to find the witch and informed us that her name was Shansa. They warned us that she did charge a high cost though. I wasn't worried about that then though since I made the mistake of assuming that her high cost was simply a financial cost. I would later realize it was financial at all.

Shansa, the witch, lived in a prison cell. We had very little problems sneaking into the prison. Since it was night it was rather easy as there was only one guard on duty. I hit him over the head with a chair that was placed within the prison, probably for him to sit, knocking him out.

"Mom!" Henry gasped, "Did you kill him?"

"No," I shook my head. "He'll just have a little headache when he wakes up that's all. I didn't use enough force to kill him."

"I didn't know you could do that," he said, astonished.

I shrugged. "A woman has to know how to protect her only son in case of danger. I did my research."

We found Shansa's cell easily. It was separated from all the rest, but It stood out them since she had bones near the doorway. I wasn't sure if they were human or not, some things are better left unknown. There were also some rats roaming around inside her cell as well. As much as I had seen rats before on pirate ships and such, I still found them rather revolting. Before we could even get to the cell we heard a female voice speaking through the entryway, though we could not yet see it.

"There is a price that must be paid for crossing my door," a dark figure announced as it walked towards us.

As she came into the light it became obvious that this figure was a bald woman with tan skin. She had markings, perhaps they were tattoos, going across her entire body in the shape of red lines. There were multiple smaller lines going down from each of the red lines that ran across her body. She had a red circular mark on her forehead that was rather big as well. I couldn't tell exactly what it was since the lighting in the area was so poor.

She was wearing all black, but while covered, was not exactly what I would call modest. The garment that covered her shoulders had holes all over it, almost like a fishing net, only with holes big enough that the fish could surely swim through. Her dress, which was also black, did not cover her ankles nor did it even come close, ending just below the knee. She wore a necklace with a big circular shape on the end, a smaller circle around the edge and another circle with once again smaller circles around it on the middle as well.

There were two rats sitting on her left shoulder. One was mostly black with a white belly and the second was white with brown markings running down its middle.

"You may cross my cell barrier if you wish," she said, "But the cost is blood."

Will and I made eye contact. I wasn't sure what to do. Blood was not a cost I was willing to pay.

The witch stuck her arm out towards her cell door and opening her palm pointed at the door. The cell door vanished as a result. She had to have used some magic on it.

"Blood?" Henry asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "The cost to cross my door is blood. Walking through enacts the curse and if not paid immediately, the blood will be paid eventually."

Carina pulled her hood down for the first time that night and walked forward, towards the door.

"Carina!" Henry yelled, "No! Don't!"

"I'm not afraid of you," Carina said, looking at Shansa. She stopped walking just before she reached the place where the cell door had formerly been. She took a deep breathe. "You can't do anything to me," she argued, as she took the last few steps before reaching the opening Shansa had warned us not to pass.

My heart pounded within my chest. Shansa had made it very clear that the cost was blood. The girl my son thought he was falling in love with was standing before me, about to walk through a doorway that would inevitably lead to her death. I had to do something. I reached forward, planning to grab her and pull her back. Henry could not loose the first woman he ever cared about like this.

I noticed Will beginning to move forward as well. I assumed he was probably planning on doing the same thing I was, but just in case I was not going to stand back.

I panicked as I watched Carina about to pass through the cell doorway. I quickly realized I was not going to be able to grab her fast enough!

Then I saw the worst thing I had ever seen in my life. I could feel my eyes growing wide as I screamed.

Henry had literally run into Carina, pushing her behind and out of the way of the doorway. Which meant he had pushed himself into it instead.

Henry was on the ground, on his hands and knees, just past the entryway into the witch's cell which meant he was now cursed. I could barely breathe. My heart continued pounding.

"HENRY!" Will yelled.

"No… no," I whispered, shaking my head in disbelief, fighting tears.

Carina got up from the ground where Henry had pushed her. She clenched her fists as she stood, her eyes flaring. "Nothing can happen from crossing the door!" she yelled, "You didn't need to push me because she can't do anything!" She looked at Shansa and continued yelling. "Henry and I were there when Poseidon's trident was broken. All curses have been broken now. No one who walks through your doorway will be cursed anymore!"

The witch looked at her, expressionless. "Poseidon's trident only destroyed the curses of the sea," she explained, bluntly, "Land curses are different."

Henry was shaking, but he got he got up off his hand and knees and stood regardless. I still could barely breathe.

"His blood will be paid eventually," Shansa continued, "But for now you may come and I shall answer the many questions you have." She turned around and began to walk deeper into her cell, leaving the entryway.

"No!" Carina yelled, "It's my fault, take me instead! Take my blood, not his!"

"The one who crosses the door is the one who must pay," Shansa said, not even bothering to turn around.

Henry followed her deeper into her cell until we could no longer see him from the entrance. Carina started pacing, kicking dirt everywhere as she did. "It should be me," she said, shaking her head, continuing to pace. Then she turned to face the cell and began walking towards it again."That's it. I'm going in there!" she yelled.

"Stop!" Will yelled, "You go through there and all Henry did will accomplish nothing."

Carina sighed. "It should be me," she repeated. Starring at the ground she backed away from the doorway, continuing to kick the dirt around her feet.

"Henry chose to curse himself instead," Will said, looking at Carina. "It's best we accept that and move on. There has to be a way to undo this though, a way to overcome it. There's always a way. No cause is a lost cause if there is but one fool left to fight for it."

I'd heard him say that before. Before he saved his father from Davy Jones.

"At what cost though?" I asked, angirly. "The last time you went after a lost cause look what it cost you! You spent years as Captain of the Dutchman and now for what? To come home only to loose our son?"

Ultimately, I didn't blame Will, but he was easy to yell at. I needed to yell at someone. My son was going to die, just as my husband had earlier. I couldn't deal with it. I couldn't.

"Elizabeth," Will argued, as he grabbed both my shoulders then pulled me into a hug. "We'll find a way. We'll find a way."

"How?" I cried, my head against his shoulder.

"I don't know, but I do know that all curses can be overcome. A young boy once found me aboard my ship and told me he was going to free me from my curse. I didn't believe such a thing was possible then. Yet, here I am beside you now, a free man with a heart inside his body just like everyone else. We will find a way, Elizabeth. Henry will not die."

My tears stopped. I really, really wanted to believe him. Our family had done the impossible before, why not again? A small, tiny part of me had doubts, but I wanted to believe.

I lifted my head from against his shoulder. I sniffled my nose a bit from the tears I had recently shed.

"I'm… I'm sorry," Carina apologized, looking up from the ground at Will and I.

"For what?" Will asked, raising one eyebrow and tilting his head just slightly.

"Your son," Carina answered, "It's my fault he's cursed."

Will's head straightened and he shook his head. He moved his arms from around me and took a step towards Carina, making direct eye contact with her. "Henry made his own choice," he explained with sympathy in his voice.

A small part of me wanted to blame Carina, but I knew he was right. Henry had made his own choice. If I were to be honest with myself, had it been Will who was about to cross the line and curse himself I probably would have done the same thing Henry did and I knew Will would have done the same thing for me as well. I couldn't be mad at Henry and being mad at Carina wouldn't do any good either. She hadn't meant to hurt Henry or anyone. This was not anyone's fault and as Will had assured me earlier we would stop this. Henry would not end up having to pay any blood. There had to be a way around this curse and we would find it.

Behind Will and Carina I noticed my son leaving the witch's cell. As he walked past the entryway I ran to him and hugged him. "Henry!" I cried.

"It's okay, I'm alright, mum," he said, trying to shrug me off. It was then that I noticed he was holding something—the witches necklace. I wondered why he had that, but before I could ask him Carina ran towards us causing Henry to lightly push me aside.

"Henry!" she yelled as she hugged him. A tiny part of me felt jealous that her hug was so welcomed while mine was shrugged off. I supposed I'd have to get use to that though. He wasn't a young boy anymore. This was the way it should be.

Carina stepped aside from their hug, but Henry kept his arm wrapped around her as she moved to his side.

"What did you find out, son?" Will asked.

"A lot," he answered, "We have a long journey ahead of us. We need to get supplies and head out aboard our ship."

I nodded. "Perhaps we should get a crew first though," I suggested.

"No," Henry shook his head. "They'll be no need for that. It'll only leave more people that we need to figure out what to do with when we reach the other ship."

"What ship, son?" Will asked. I noticed Will used the word "son" around Henry a lot more than necessary. I wasn't sure exactly why, but I knew it had something to do with them spending so much time apart. I think Will just liked the idea that he had a son and wanted to reinforce the idea whenever he could.

"Why Captain Jack Sparrow's, of course," Henry answered, smiling. "I'll explain the rest on the way, but for now we've got to get a move on it before he gets too far ahead of us."

Jack Sparrow!? Captain Jack Sparrow!? I hadn't seen that man in years and there was quite a good reason for that. Teaming up with Jack meant teaming up with trouble. Sometimes I wished I'd never met that man. My whole world came crashing down after meeting Captain Jack Sparrow once before and I was not about to let it happen again.

* * *

A/N:

Wow. A part of me can't believe I did that to Henry. Okay is everybody breathing after that? It'll be okay though, give it time, we'll be alright. Please don't hate me, it's all part of the story.

Okay anyway, 4 day weekend here in Canada right now at my work cause of the 150th bday celebration == more writing time! Yay! I'll get the next chapter up shortly though I hope because I know this one hurts some of us emotionally. Probably should be up by late monday, but i'm going to try for earlier.

Now to last chapters non-registered reviewers who I cant PM:

PotcFan101 - I've actually never watched Arrow, so nope. lol. thats funny though. Thanks for your compliment and review though! :)

Smithy- I think there will have to be some father-son convos coming up. Thanks for reviewing again. :) PS - i know you really didnt want Jack added so im sorry. We will definitely get on that whole "despising romance" thing though. That is not okay, Jack.

She-elf : thanks so much for your compliments! that was so nice! I really have so much fun writing Henry/Carina from the Elizabeth/Will perspective. Thanks so much for reviewing! :)


	7. Father and Son

Chapter 7: Father and Son

 **Will's POV:**

After Henry's encounter with the witch we were quick to purchase some food and supplies then quickly headed off to find Jack. I wasn't sure exactly how I felt about intentionally going out to look for the "great" Captain Jack Sparrow. The last time I had intentionally sought him out after finding him he'd sent me off to Davy Jones' ship in exchange for his own soul. He had also kissed Elizabeth before and it wasn't just a quick peck either. I didn't like that.

He had apparently helped Henry a lot though on the journey to Poseidon's trident to free me from my curse. In a sense I supposed he was in part the reason why I was free. He also had helped me find Elizabeth all those years ago when she'd been taken by Barbossa, though technically that turned out to be for his own benefit so he could get the Pearl back. One could argue however, that had we never gone on that adventure together I never would have had the courage to speak up and tell Elizabeth how I truly felt about her. Whether I liked it or not, Jack was a big part of my history. I just couldn't decide how I felt about that.

We boarded our ship and left the dock relatively quickly. Henry had stated we had no time to loose, but I think the reason we were so fast had little to do with that—at least for myself it hadn't. I wanted to hear what Henry had learned at the witches, but he was insistent that until we had left port there was no time to talk.

As soon as we had left the dock and were out at sea, the land far behind us, Henry was ready to speak. Elizabeth was at the helm, heading the way Henry had directed her, straight ahead for the time being. I sat on the left side of railing by the helm again, as I often did whenever Elizabeth was steering, with my legs dangling over the edge once more. Carina leaned against the right side of the same railing.

Henry walked towards us, fiddling with something in his hand. It seemed to perhaps be a necklace, the chain dangling down while his palm was wrapped around whatever the jewel or item on the end of it was, hiding it.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on now?" Elizabeth asked. There was no doubt we were all thinking the same thing.

Henry stopped fiddling with whatever was in his hand for a moment and sighed. He walked a little closer until he was merely a foot in front of Elizabeth—Carina and I at either side of her. He sighed again as he finally began to speak. "Jones is alive," he said, fiddling with the item in his palm once more.

I looked at Elizabeth to judge her reaction. She was gritting her teeth and her eyes were flaring with rage. Carina on the other hand simply looked confused. Henry was busy still fiddling with whatever was in his hand.

"I still don't understand what exactly makes this Jones so scary," Carina admitted, "I mean you're King of the pirates and the former Captain of the Dutchman. Shouldn't he be scared of us?"

"Davy Jones was Captain of the Dutchman before my father ever was," Henry answered clenching his jaw, "He's also the man who murdered my father."

Carina's eyes widened. "I suppose we do have something to be afraid of then, don't we?"

Henry nodded.

"Did the witch say how Jones could be defeated?" Elizabeth asked. "Can he be killed again? Does he have his heart still in his body?"

"No," Henry shook his head. "He's not really alive, though not really dead. He's more like a ghost, I think."

"How?" Elizabeth asked again, her voice more angry that it already had been before.

Henry sighed. "It's because of the trident. When we broke all the curses at sea, Jones' ghost was no longer bound to where he died. He can roam free now."

"Does that mean he can hurt us?" Elizabeth asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Yes," Henry admitted, "But that's why we have to find Jack and the Pearl! The Pearl is the fastest ship in the Caribbean. It's made journeys previously that no other ship has survived. With it we can outrun Jones and find a way to defeat him."

"So the witch didn't tell you how to defeat him?" I questioned.

Henry shook his head. "No, but she told me there was a way and how to find out. We need to find the Dutchman and for that we'll need the Pearl."

"The Dutchman!?" I asked, astonished. I'd finally rid myself of that ship after years of being a part of it. I was not eager to return to it.

"Yes, apparently the current Captain of the Flying Dutchman," Henry explained, "The man who took over captaining from you, dad, he'll know how to defeat Jones."

I nodded, still trying to piece together everything Henry had just told us.

"Will?" Elizabeth asked, "Who is the Captain of the Dutchman now? Do you know who took your place?"

I nodded. "Barbossa," I answered, then turned to Carina, "Willingly though. He wasn't forced into it or anything. I asked him. He was dying anyway, but he had accepted it was his time. Said his blood was owed anyway to some witch. Maybe that witch was even Shansa, I'm not sure."

"Shansa," Elizabeth repeated, frowning. "But if he's dead after owing blood to the witch, that means Henry's blood will be collected in time as well."

"No! Not quite!" Henry protested, "Well maybe… I'm not sure."

"What?" Carina said, clearly in disbelief. "The witch made it very clear that the cost of crossing into her cell was blood. How exactly do you plan on overcoming that?"

Henry sighed. He was shaking a bit as he continued. "She gave me this," he explained, dangling what was indeed a necklace, that he had been holding on to after all from his hand. "I can use it to postpone my payment."

"How?" Elizabeth asked. "We need to do that then. Forget about finding Jack. What do you need from us to use it?"

Henry sighed, still shaking a little. "All I need to do is put it on."

"Then put it on!" Elizabeth demanded.

"It's not that simple," he said, sighing again. "She cursed it before giving it to me. If I put it on my life is immediately attached to it. I won't be able to remove it ever again and if it ever is removed I die, instantly."

"But if you don't wear it," Carina argued, "You die eventually anyway."

Henry shrugged. "I just… I can't figure out what the catch must be… these curses… anytime… there… it just could be something else to it," he rambled.

"Well if your choices are that you can either die soon or stay alive as long as the necklace is on," Carina yelled, "I don't really see the problem!"

Henry shrugged.

"Henry, put the necklace on," Elizabeth ordered in a motherly tone.

I don't know what made me think it, but it seemed as though there was something else Henry wasn't exactly saying, something else that perhaps the witch had told him about the necklace that he didn't want to tell us yet. A part of me wanted to just come out and ask him about it, but if he was going to tell us he probably already would of, I figured. I decided right then and there that this was something I needed to discuss with Henry one-on-one.

"Why don't you take time to contemplate this necklace, son," I suggested, "Maybe wait until we meet up with Jack? Perhaps he'll know what this _catch_ could be that you were mentioning."

Henry nodded. "Yeah, I probably wouldn't die tonight anyway, I mean, nothing's really happening. We're just at sea, no bad guys or anything," he rambled on.

"Right," I agreed, "Exactly."

"Are we really sure that's in his best interest?" Elizabeth questioned. "What if..."

I stopped her. "Nothing is going to happen tonight, Elizabeth, and if by some off chance we happen to get attacked by pirates in the night or something, he can throw the necklace on then."

She gave me a bit of a dirty look, but didn't fight me on it anymore.

A moment of silence passed between the four of us while I assuming we were all contemplating everything we had just learned. I couldn't believe Jones was still out there and possibly trying to come after my family. I hated that man. He'd destroyed everything for me. A part of me would have loved to kill him again, only this time I wanted to be conscious to see his demise. But if I were to be totally honest, another part of me feared him and wanted to stay as far away as possible. I would never let him know it though, nor would I ever show it.

"So my father's Captain of the Flying Dutchman now," Carina said, breaking the silence.

Henry nodded as did I.

"He was my last stop on the Dutchman before I was freed," I explained.

"Did he… did he seem happy?" she asked.

I nodded again. "He did. He accepted it was his time to die and had always wanted to sail the seas forever, now he can."

She smiled. "Once a pirate, always a pirate," she grinned.

"So how do we find Captain Jack Sparrow?" Elizabeth asked.

"Simple. He's following the stars," Henry explained, "More specifically the one called, Carina."

"Why is he doing that?" Carina asked, shocked.

Henry shook his head. "Now that'd be something the witch didn't answer."

~0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0~

When Carina later went to bed under deck, I pulled Henry aside before he too could sleep. I needed to talk to him. I don't know how I knew exactly, whether it was parental intuition or whether I was just good at telling when people were keeping secrets, but I knew there was something my son wasn't saying. I didn't want Elizabeth overhearing though. Whatever it was that he knew, there was a reason he wasn't telling anyone about it yet and it might be something very not good. There was no need to cause Elizabeth to be more afraid than she probably was already. Plus, I hoped he might be more likely to open up to me if there were less people around.

"We need to talk," I said to my son as he began to make his way down the stairs to below deck.

He nodded.

"Come with me," I said as I turned around. I made my way to the front hull of the ship, stopping just before the edge railing. Henry followed. I put my hands on the railing, leaning against it and sighed. I turned to face my son and make eye contact with him.

"This necklace," I said, getting straight to the point, "What's really stopping you from wearing it?"

He sighed then bit his lip. "How did you know?"

I shrugged. "Father's intuition." I wasn't entirely sure if that was exactly true or not, but it seemed plausible. Anyway, how wasn't important. What mattered was what he was trying to hide as well as why.

Henry pulled the necklace from his pocket and began to fiddle with it in his hand once again. He sighed again. "You won't tell mum or Carina?"

"It'll be a need-to-know basis."

He sighed again. "There's a lot of things I learned at the witches today that I didn't say."

I'll admit I was surprised to hear that. I had expected he'd lied a bit about the necklace, but I didn't expect he'd hidden more than that.

Henry starred at the necklace in his hand, fiddling with it still, and refusing to make eye contact with me at all costs.

"I… you… I… Why didn't you ferry Jones to the locker when you had the chance? When you were suppose to?" he asked, finally looking up at me. His nostril were flared, his jaw was clenched, his eyes were wide, and his free hand was in the form of a fist.

I was ashamed. I didn't think the witch would have told him my secret, the secret I'd kept to myself for years. I didn't even think my own crew on the Dutchman had known what I'd done.

 _It had been years ago, decades even. I was new to the Dutchman, recently dead, and basically was simply cleaning up all the souls that Jones had just left wondering around when he decided not to do his duty for years upon end. I was guiding them all to the locker._

 _Among the lost souls were some people I knew from Port Royal. Elizabeth's father, for example, was there. I helped him reach the locker. That was a difficult day. He'd been so disappointed to hear his daughter had lost her husband. I didn't even know what to say in response to him. I felt bad for Elizabeth as well._

 _There were so many lost souls that Jones had left that we didn't feel the "call of the Dutchman" for them all so no one would notice if a single soul wasn't brought to the locker. We only felt "the call" for the recently dead and dying. We spent years wondering the seas, finding all the lost souls Jones had abandoned._

 _One day on our journey I ran into many lost souls that I'd known in my former life. It was time to guide the lost souls from the battle that I had died in. Technically, those lost souls should have ncluded Davy Jones himself. I'd left him there though. I didn't want to face him. I didn't know how to face him._

 _Our ship didn't feel "the call" for him because he'd technically died before I was made Captain of the Dutchman. I figured no one would realize or care if I left him there, so I did._

 _I grew my facial barnacles after that. Up until that point the Dutchman had been barnacle-free ever since I'd become the Captain. The crew figured it was probably just because the Dutchman was such a cursed ship and it was only a matter of time before it grew barnacles and whatever else again as it had formerly. I just went along with it, but I knew better. If the Captain didn't do his duty the ship would have barnacles. I had left one soul behind and because of it, I would forever have a reminder of it on my face._

 _As time passed and I continued to leave Jones' soul behind I grew some more barnacles slowly, on my back and such. The crew still thought it was part of the curse and I let them believe that. I knew truthfully it was because I had left one soul and in part neglected my duty. I was not going back for him though. I couldn't, not for Jones._

How could I possibly explain all this to my son though?

"You could have stopped this from happening altogether," Henry argued, "Jones wouldn't be coming after us now if he was in the locker. I wouldn't even have this necklace then because I wouldn't be cursed because Jones would be in the locker instead of running after my parents who not only killed him, but apparently just left him there and..."

"Henry!" I cut him off. "It's not that simple. Jones is..."

"After us!" Henry argued, "Because of you. Because you didn't do your duty and bring him to the locker!"

He was right. I couldn't really argue with him if he was right. In a way this entire thing was my fault. If I'd brought Jones to the locker when I was suppose to Elizabeth and I wouldn't have envisioned him in our room. We wouldn't have gone to see the witch. Henry wouldn't be cursed and we'd still be on the island, at our home, living happily-ever-after. This entire thing was my fault. My son was right.

I blinked back tears. "You're right," I frowned, turning from him to face the sea. I sighed and placed my hands on the railing again. Everything, everything was my fault.

I heard Henry sigh deeper than he had all night then I slowly heard him walk up towards me. He placed his hand on the railing as well to the right of mine.

"Dad, I… I didn't mean… I...," he stammered.

"But you're right, son," I said, finally getting the courage to look at him again. "This is all my fault. You and your mother were probably better off without me."

"NO!" he yelled, "Never! Don't say that! I just… I'm just confused and curses and witches and creepy necklaces and … Dad, I didn't know Jones. I don't know how it feels to have to deal with dead people all day and for one of those dead people to be the man responsible for your own death. Dad, I … I never meant… I just… WE WERE NEVER BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU!"

I didn't even know what to say and so a moment of silence passed between us until Henry spoke again. "I love you, dad," he said for the first time in his adult life, crying as I felt his arms wrap around me into a hug.

Without any hesitation, I hugged him back. "I love you, too."

We stood there for a moment hugging before Henry broke away.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Henry apologized, now standing beside me.

I sighed. "I know why you did. And in a sense you were right. I could have stopped this long ago. If I'd known then what leaving Jones would have meant, I never would have left him," I admitted, turning towards the railing again and punching it with my fist as I spoke.

"I know," Henry said, joining me at the railing again. The two of us both starred out to the sea lost in our own thoughts for a while.

I had never meant to put my family in danger. I'd meant what I said to Henry. If I'd known the consequences of not ferrying Jones to the locker I never would have done it.

"Once we find Jack," Henry explained, breaking the silence, "His ship can outrun any Jones can find. Then we can use the Pearl to find Triton, Poseidon's son. Shansa told me he's still alive and out of all Poseidon's children he would be the most likely to help us."

"Help us defeat Jones?" I asked.

"Help us right everything," he answered, "The curses of the sea were created for a reason. They were never meant to be broken so easily. There will be many consequences to breaking the curses, many of which haven't quite begun yet."

"You didn't mention that earlier."

"I didn't want to scare mum and Carina," he sighed again, playing with the necklace once more.

I sighed and moved back from the ship's railing, turning to look directly at my son again. "What about that necklace?" I asked.

He clenched his jaw as his eyes widened. "What about it?" he asked, turning to face me.

"Well something makes me think this _catch_ you're apparently worried about their being to this necklace is a catch you're already well aware of."

He closed his eyes for a quick second then opened them again taking a deep breathe and exhaling. "It's about Carina," he admitted, clenching the necklace between his palm again.

"Carina?"

He nodded. "I was only given the necklace because Shansa took favor on me after seeing that I only crossed her doorway as what she called "an act of love." I saved Carina from an awful fate by instead throwing that fate upon myself. That's why I was given the necklace. If I put it on, my life becomes tied to it. As long as I'm wearing it I'll stay alive and my blood won't be owed.

It doesn't mean I can't die, I asked about that. I can still die, but I won't die just because my blood is owed and my time is up. But, the instant someone removes the necklace whether by my own doing or someone else's, I die—my time is up and my blood must be paid. Otherwise, as long as I wear it I can survive… as long… as long as…"

"As long as what, son?" I asked, cutting him off.

He swallowed and started shaking just a little bit as he continued to speak. "It was born out of an act of love, or so the witch called it anyway, but that means the necklace is also tied to that love. It means I have to love Carina fully in everything I do and if I should ever put myself first, before her, the necklace will fall off it's chain and… and my blood is owed again. I'll die."

"So putting on the necklace is like a full commitment to Carina?" I questioned.

"Yes," he nodded, "It's… it's not that I don't like her… of course I like her… but… but to put her first always… what if I fail? … What if… What if she meets someone else… what if she's happier with someone else… then putting her first means letting her go, doesn't it? … I won't even be able to fight the other guy..."

"Henry," I laughed, "Why would she leave you for someone else?"

He frowned. "I don't know. I just… we've… we've never really said how we felt about each other… I mean… I've kissed her… but… but that's it really..."

I nodded. "Necklace or no necklace, you really need to tell her how you feel."

"How do I know how I feel?" he asked just above a whisper.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean. I… I think I love her, but… but how do I know?"

"Well, when you pushed her out of the way and cursed yourself instead, why did you do that?" I asked.

"Because I didn't want to see her blood paid."

"And why not?"

"Because… Oh," he said, my point clearly being made. He smiled. "Because I care about her. Because I don't want anything bad to ever happen to her or for her to ever feel any pain. Because… Because I love her."

I nodded, smiling.

Henry stopped smiling though as his eyes once again widened and his mouth gaped opened. "So… what do I do now? What if she doesn't feel the same? What... How do I… oh I'm in trouble."

I chuckled to myself a little. If as a younger man I'd had a father to talk to about these things I imagined I'd have said a lot of the same things as he was saying. I know I certainly thought a lot of them.

"Well now you have to tell her," I stated.

"Well that's… that's petrifying."

I nodded. I remembered that feeling all too well.

Henry stood there for a moment silently then I watched as his panic turned into happiness. He smiled again. "I'm… I'm in love, dad," he stammered.

I nodded, smiling as well.

"I guess..." Henry continued, "I guess there's really no reason for me not to put on the necklace then."

I shrugged.

"And if," he continued, his smile vanishing, "If she doesn't love me back then… then I guess I'll still love her anyway… and the necklace will be proof of it."

"I have a feeling you won't have to worry about that," I replied.

He sighed. "I hope you're right."

I watched as he undid the clasp from his necklace and put it around his neck. He tucked it under his shirt. It did bulge a bit where he'd hid it though. As far as size was concerned it wasn't the most conventional necklace to be hiding.

"Dad?" he asked.

I loved hearing that word. It was a word I hadn't heard often enough. I nodded for him to go on.

"Why does Calypso favor you so? Was it because you ferried the souls to the locker so well?"

I shrugged, remembering back to my last encounter with Calypso right before she'd been released from her human prison when I'd told her that Davy Jones was the man who'd betrayed her by telling the original Brethren Court how to imprison her in the first place. Maybe that was why she favored me or maybe Henry was right and it was because I had done my duty as Captain of the Flying Dutchman for so many years with only one missed soul, a missed soul Calypso herself probably didn't even care about since he'd betrayed her. Then again, who was to say she even favored me in the first place? I hadn't had anything to do with her for years.

"Who says she does?" I asked Henry.

"Shansa did," he explained, "She said that's why you and mum saw Jones in the night. He wasn't really there. It was vision, a warning, sent from Calypso herself."

I shrugged. That was news to me. "I'm not sure," I admitted.

"I always heard in the legend that Calypso and Jones were lovers. It seems odd that she'd betray him by warning you."

"Now that is a story that is a lot more complex that it seems. I'll tell it to you one day, or what I know of it anyway. But for now son… I think you need to get some rest. Morning will be here before you know it and you and Carina will be in charge of steering then."

He nodded.

"Plus," I continued, "I believe there's something you ought to be telling her in the morning, now isn't there?"

Henry smiled. "Goodnight, dad," he said as he began to walk away to head under deck.

I stopped him and hugged him one last time before letting him go. "I love you, son," I said as I hugged him.

"I love you too, dad," he said returning my hug. I let him go so he could head under deck to get some sleep. He began to walk away, but then stopped and turned to face me one more time that night.

"Dad," he said, "It's really nice to have you back."

I nodded. "It's good to be back. I owe it all to you, son."

He smiled. "I'd do it again for you in an instance, even if it meant cursing myself again. I mean that."

"My hope is we can still find a way to free you from that necklace eventually."

"First things first, dad. We need to find Jack."

"Aye," I agreed, although to be honest I wasn't so sure whether I was looking forward to that part or not.

"Goodnight, dad," Henry said, leaving to go under deck for real this time.

"Goodnight, my son."

I smiled watching him leave. I was thankful to have had some time alone to talk to him. I may have still barely known him, but I loved him more and more the more time I spent with him. He was a little quirky, especially when it came to girls, but he was perfect. He was my son and I loved him wholeheartedly just the way he was.

* * *

A/N:

okay this was one of my favorite chapters to write so far so i really hope you guys liked it. Anyway, while everything isn't totally perfect for our favorite Turners, I'm hoping this one will bring a little relief after the craziness of last chapter. Happy 4th of July to all my American readers tomorrow! R&R guys thank you!

Smithy- I did report that as spam but yeah it's still there and i cant do anything about it. ive seen the same message pop up on a lot of stories lately though... Happy independence day though! thanks for your review!

HenryXcarina - glad your enjoying it so far, thanks for reviewing! hope you liked this chapter too.

She-elf- lol thanks for reviewing again. i hope your wait was worth it :)


	8. Alva

Chapter 8: Alva

 **Elizabeth's POV:**

" _Harridan!" Davy Jones yelled, "You'll see no mercy from me!"_

 _I wasn't afraid. I didn't need mercy._

" _That's why I brought this!" I exclaimed, drawing my sword. Instantly the two of us were locked in an epic battle. I had this though. I was certain. Will had taught me how to sword fight after our first encounter with Jack. While it a rather romantic way to bond, it had also been very informative. I had learned a lot. I was a good fighter. I could do this._

 _I turned and slid to the ground, dodging Jones' blade. I continued to fight him off as I rose to my feet. Our blades continued to cross, constantly striking and blocking one another._

 _Then I realized something terrible. I wasn't really prepared for this battle._

 _Jones blocked one of my swings which such force that he struck my sword out of my hand as he did. I fell to the ground, gasping. It was over. I had no weapon, no chance of getting a weapon and maybe this really was the end._

 _I blacked out for a mere moment, my eyes closed as I sat lying against the edge of the ship. I quickly came to and brushed my hair out of my eyes. I turned and saw Will on the ground nearby. For a moment I was relieved to see him there. Then I saw Jones nearing him and my relief was quickly obliterated._

 _Jones turned to me with a sickening grin. "Aw, love," he remarked, "A dreadful bond!"_

 _He began to walk towards where Will was on the ground of the ship. "And yet," Jones continued, "So easily severed." My heart raced in fear. I could barely breathe, watching the scene unfold before my eyes, helpless to intervene. I wanted to scream Will's name, but couldn't find my voice._

" _Tell me, Henry Turner," Jones said, pointing his sword towards where I now saw Henry sitting, taking deep breathes, his entire chest moving in and out as he breathed. Will had vanished and it seemed Henry had taken his place. I didn't know where Will had gone._

" _Do you fear death?" Jones asked Henry._

 _No! Not my son, he would not get my son! My heart raced within me. I would have screamed if I could find my voice, but I found myself unable to do anything._

" _This," Jones declared, "Is your father's gift, for killing me."Before anything else could be said or done I watched in despair as Jones pulled his sword towards my son and began to stab it towards his chest and…._

"Elizabeth!" Will's voice, yelled. Where was he? I could hear him, but not see him. "Elizabeth!" he said once again. "Elizabeth, wake up, my love. Elizabeth!"

I felt what must have been his hands against me, gently nudging me. I blinked my eyes open.

"Will!" I screamed, sitting up and embracing him finding myself in our bed together on our ship. "Will!" I yelled again, tearing pouring out of my eyes.

"It's alright," he reassured, "It was only a dream."

"He was going to kill Henry," I explained, sweat still dripping down my body.

"No one's going to kill Henry," Will said, rubbing his hand against my back as he held me. Oh how I'd longed for this every time I'd awoke from similar nightmares previously, only normally I dreamed of flashbacks of Will's death, not Henry's.

"Will, I can't handle this," I sobbed, into his chest. "He needs to put that necklace on… I saw Jones and..."

Will cut me off. "It was only a dream, my love. Henry is safe and he has put the necklace from the witch on. I saw him do so with my own two eyes, before he went to sleep last night."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "So he's safe?" I asked.

Will rested his head on top of mine. "As safe as any of us are."

As much as I hated the nightmares, I can't quite describe how good it felt to have someone to wake me from them after so many years of wakening to an empty bed alone. My husband was back with me now, reassuring me that everything was going to be alright, it was just a dream.

I snuggled back down into the blankets and rolled onto my side, facing Will. He lay beside me, holding me with his one arm, while the other rubbed my back as I fell back to sleep. Somehow I knew in that moment, that no matter what was to come we were going to be okay. Will was here. He was alive. Henry was alive and had the necklace on to protect himself. We were going to be okay. I was going to be okay.

~0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0~

It was two days after that when we were reunited with Captain Jack Sparrow. I wasn't too thrilled about that at all. The Pearl had made port, to stock up on supplies I supposed, and our ship stopped at the very same port, just as Shansa had told Henry would happen.

I could not say I missed Jack. He was the reason I was denied my wedding night originally and instead it turned into my last night with my husband for ten years! Jack was the reason Will had died. Danger followed him everywhere he went and he was not to be trusted.

We found Jack preparing the Pearl to leave port.

"Jack!" Henry shouted, running on to the Pearl's deck towards it's captain.

"You?" Jack asked, eyeing him suspiciously. "Aren't you suppose to be with mummy and daddy, re-embracing your happily-ever-after with the horologist?"

Henry shook his head, frowning.

"Nothing's ever that simple, Jack," Will said as himself, Carina and I walked onto the Pearl as well, steps behind Henry who had sprinted there.

"Aww William Turner," Jack responded, "Or my apologizes if it ain't Captain Turner now, the pirate who never wanted to be a pirate, ain't that right?" He looked towards Henry before continuing. "Tried to deny it he did. Was never going to turn into one of us filthy vermin… til he died."

I rolled my eyes. I wanted to get everything over with, the sooner the better. "Jack," I said, stepping forward.

"Oh if it ain't dear ol' Lizzie," he interrupted.

"It's Mrs. Turner, to you," I corrected, sternly.

Jack winced. "Really? After all that I did for you, Henry here tells me you didn't even bother to tell him of my very existence!"

"There was nothing to tell," I remarked, coldly.

"Nothing? No, of course not!" Jack replied, sarcastically, "I just saved your dear husband's life by giving up my own chance at immortality in the process! But no, that's nothing, I mean chances at immortality always come around now don't they?"

"You did what?" Henry asked, tilting his head.

"Yes," Jack continued, "Mummy here never really told you what all transpired on the day daddy died now did she? Failed to mention how daddy was going to really die, with no chance of becoming Captain of the Dutchman and how I, myself, had Jones' heart all ready to stab it, I did. I would've too, but then Jones had to run his sword through Wiliam here, didn't he?

So you know what I did, Henry? Took the heart and gave it to William, I's did! Helped him stab it while mummy just sat there in shock, useless. Saved his life, one might argue. And what thanks do I get? Don't even pass on any news of me to your own son! Ha! Poppy cock!"

"And not only that, but what does I do next?" he continued, looking directly at me, "Go on a journey with your son, keeping the boy alive the whole time mind you, keeping him out of harms way, helping him admit his true feelings for a certain horologist. He choose the horologist not me, but maybe she'll be motivated to stop whoring around now, who knows..."

"That's not what horologist means!" Carina interrupted.

Jack continued talking as though she hadn't said a word. "And then on top of all that, what else does I do? Why help Henry here find the trident, and save dear William completely, ending his curse entirely. Then because I haven't been gracious enough already, why I even brings Henry back to his homeland and see to it that not only does he reach shore correctly, but also so does William and what recognition do I get in all of this? Nothing.

And yet you all still seem to have the nerve to hop aboard me ship, likely in need of some favor, and to not only expect me to follow through on this favor, I suspect, but also to tell me what I can and cannot call you, is that right Elizabeth?"

I bit my lip. A part of me knew he was right. In a way Jack had done a lot for us, but he'd also caused us a lot of trouble along the way. I did not want to admit it though, not to him. I stood there silently instead.

"Perhaps," Will said, speaking for me, "Thanks are in order."

"Well your welcome," Jack smiled, "Now get off my ship!"

"But Jack we need you," Henry begged.

"Nope," Jack argued, waving his hands in Henry's face, "Nuh-uh. There will be no needing here today!"

"Jack please," Carina begged.

"Can't. Got other things to do."

"Jack please," Henry begged once more.

"Like what?" I asked, "What could you possibly have to do that's so important?"

Jack began waving his finger in my face. "Things I blame you for!"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Yes, you, the lot of you," he said, pointing at all of us. "You ruined me. Sent me off on searches like your own. Always saving distressed damsels and now here I am doing the same thing! Would almost be a shame it would… if she weren't so darn cute!"

The four of us stood there for a moment, looking at him with our mouths gaped opened and heads tilted in confusion.

"What?" Carina asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Found meself a girl, I has," Jack explained, "No time for Turners and Barbossa's now, has I."

As if on cue, a beautiful female came towards us. She was undeniably attractive. Her hair flowed in gorgeous dark brown, wavy locks down her shoulders. Half of it was pinned up while the other half remained down. She was wearing a beautiful dark red dress that showed off every curve of her body perfectly. She wore a beautiful gold necklace with a heart on the end around her neck and matching earrings. Her smile could light up an entire room. Her lips were the perfect mix of a pinkish-red and her eyes shone a bright, beautiful blue and seemed to sparkle in the light. Even the simple things, like her eyelashes seemed somehow more beautiful than that of any other woman I had seen in my life.

Henry gasped at her beauty and almost looked like a love struck puppy, grinning like an idiot and eyeing her like he'd willingly drop anything for her. Carina quickly whacked him in the back of the head with her hand.

"What?" he asked, innocently.

"Why are you starring at her like that?" she asked, appalled.

"Cause she's..." he drifted off, grinning like a fool, his eyes clouded over as he starred some more. "She's… she's..."

"She's mine!" Jack yelled. "And you can't have her!"

"He doesn't want her," Carina argued on Henry's behalf.

"Oh but…" Henry started, still standing there like a lovesick fool, starring the woman down.

I was very confused as to what was happening. First the notoriously single, not one for commitments, pirate Captain Jack Sparrow was in love with a girl and now my son was acting like a fool over this same girl, while the girl that just a few nights ago he'd admitted to thinking he might be falling in love with stood there watching. What was going on?

"Snap out of it, Henry," Will said as he moved between Henry and the beautiful woman, the woman frowning as he did so.

Henry blinked and stopped grinning, his view of the girl being blocked. "What? What happened?" he asked, shaking his head.

Will looked directly at the woman. "Alva," he stated, "It's been awhile."

The woman squinted at it, frowning. "You're a little early," she spat.

"And a little less dead than the last time we met," he said, walking past her to the railing of the ship, rubbing his finger along it. He stopped and turned to face her again. "Release Jack," he ordered.

"You've no right to tell me what to do," she argued, wrinkling her nose.

Jack jumped in between the two of them. "Release? Come on now, can't you see we're in love?"

Alva grinned and stood beside him, wrapped her arms around him and leaned into his chest. "Yes, William, we're in love."

Will shook his head. "Jack, are you really that blind?"

"Blind?" Jack asked, shaking his head. "You'd think a love-sick fool like yourself would recognize love when he saw it and be happy for me… Or… are you jealous because my girls prettier than yours eh?"

"Jack, she's not your girl," he argued.

"Oh so this is how it's going to be then?" Jack asked, stepping away from Alva and drawing his sword. "Alright mate, if it's a fight over my woman you want then it's a fight you'll get!"

Will shook his head. "I don't want your woman," he said, frowning. "Alva, come on, you've had your fun, now release him."

Alva grinned, but said and did nothing else.

I drew my sword and put it up to her neck. "Do as my husband commands," I ordered. This whole exchange had gone on long enough. We needed to get sailing again. There was no time for… well for whatever it was that was happening.

"If I had my skin, still," Alva grimaced, "I'd kill you."

Skin? What was she talking about.

"Well you don't," Will taunted, "Now release him!"

"Leave her alone!" Jack said, drawing his sword towards me. Will quickly responded and drawing his own sword, blocked Jacks.

"Release him or my wife will cut your throat!" Will ordered towards Alva, while engaging in a sword fight with Jack.

Wife. I loved when he called me wife. I quickly snapped back to the present though.

Alva angrily gritted her teeth.

"Don't think I won't," I warned, "If you're dead, I'm wiling to bet whatever hold you have on him will die with you. Now I'll give you to the count of ten to make your move… one… two..."

Henry and Carina both drew there swords and started fighting off Jack with Will. Jack was clearly outnumbered. He didn't stand a chance. They cornered him towards the railing of the ship. He had nowhere to go and nothing to do.

"Three…," I continued, pushing my sword closer into her throat. It wasn't enough force to kill her yet, but I knew she would feel it.

"Fine!" Alva yelled, waving her hand.

A swoosh of blue light flew from Alva's hands towards Jack. As it hit him he instantly dropped his sword. Will, Carina and Henry still surrounded him.

"Parlay?" Jack shrugged.

"You're captain," Henry said, his mouth twisting, "You want to have a meeting with yourself?"

Jack shrugged again.

"What's going on?" I asked, joining them, leaving Alva behind. "Is he freed?"

"One way to find out," Will responded, putting his sword back in it's sheath. "Jack, what do you think about Alva?"

"I think you should all let me go," he said, tapping Henry and Carina's sword, lightly, "So I can go kill the bloody damsel myself!"

Henry smiled. "Now that's the Jack I remember!"

"Now come on," Alva protested from behind. "You really gotta let him kill me, I mean I did him no harm."

After she'd finished speaking, I noticed her turn to catch Henry's gaze again and she quickly winked at him.

Henry turned back into the love-sick puppy he'd been a few moments earlier. He put his sword away and faced Alva with a foolish grin on his face as his eyes almost seemed clouded over, starring at her.

"Henry, stop it!" I protested, seeing what was happening… again…

"Oh, but he can't," Alva said, walking towards him, seductively. She placed his hand on his cheek and stroked it. "Can you, Henry, darling?"

Jack grabbed his sword off the ground and swung it towards Alva. "Release the boy and it's the dungeon for you. Keep him and we'll see what the sharks think of a woman who never learned to swim in her human skin" he warned.

She eyed Jack angrily and lowly growled at him.

"Alright, well, looks like you choose death!"

Alva waved her hand and again a blue light flew towards Henry releasing him as well.

"Gibbs!" Jack yelled, keeping his sword at Alva's throat.

"Captain!" he yelled, running up beside us. "Turner? … well Turner _s,_ M _i_ ss Barbossa _,"_ he nodded.

"Gibbs, take this wench to the dungeon," Jack ordered, putting his sword away, "And whatever you do, do not look her in the eye."

Alva smiled, but her smile quickly left as Gibbs grabbed hold of her and dragged her under the deck.

"What was that?" Henry asked.

I was just as confused as him and seemingly so was Carina.

"A selkie," Will answered, "I met her long ago while ferrying the dead to the locker. Her kind is pure evil. They transform into beautiful women and corrupt the hearts of men, making them fall in love with them. Then once the man they have chosen can no longer stand to live without them, they vanish, shedding their human skin and putting their seal-skin back on in it's place. The men they leave behind always kill themselves afterwards unable to fathom life without their beloved missing woman."

I grinned. "So that means, Jack, Will just saved your life."

Jack shook his head. "No, he didn't. I knew it was a selkie all along, was just playing you really."

"Right," I sarcastically replied.

Henry shook his head. "I almost gave up everything for some woman who only wanted me dead anyway?"

"It's a curse, son," Will replied, "You didn't have a say in the matter."

"But I thought we destroyed all curses with the trident of Poseidon?" Carina asked.

"All _sea_ curses," Jack explained, "The selkie curse is part sea and part land. The sea part is when they turn back into their sea-lion selves. The land part is when they make a man fall in love with their human selves."

Will nodded.

Henry shook his head once more, starring at the ground as he bit his lip. "I… I wanted," he sighed, "I wanted to kiss her. I… I wanted to do more than kiss her… I..."

"Aye, mate," Jack interrupted, "We all did, wouldn't be men if we didn't. Except Will here who apparently knew she was a selkie from the beginning." He shrugged.

"But, I…," Henry continued, stuck on what had just conspired. "I could have lost everything."

"Nah," Jack shook his head. "Carina'd forgive you for things beyond your control, mate. Ain't that right?"

Carina wrinkled her nose as her mouth twisted in disgust. "Stay out of our relationship, Jack," she warned.

"Oh so we're calling it a relationship now, well aren't we progressing?"

"I could have died," Henry said, still starring at the ground, completely ignoring everything that was happening around him.

"But you didn't," Will said, walking up beside him and patting his shoulder. "You may have thought about doing things with the selkie, but you didn't. That's what counts."

Henry shook his head.

"You're alive," Will said, reassuringly, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, son."

Henry nodded and looked up at this father, the uneasiness seemingly leaving his composure.

Jack shook his entire body as if trying to remove some hidden image from his mind. "You thought about doing things with the selkie," he said towards Henry, in absolute disgust. "I actually did them."

I grimaced. That was an image I did not want in my head. I watched Henry, Carina and Will do the same.

"So since we just saved your life?" Will asked turning towards Jack, changing the subject. "You care to help save ours?"

* * *

A/N:

Okay so I did some sea mythology research and came across some ideas I'm going to add to this story, the Selkie being one of them. I know this one is a little bit shorter than some of my other chapters, but I am actually taking time away from my vacation to sit in my hotel room and update this story for you guys, so it's short because I'm suppose to be vacationing lol.

Anyway, thanks for reading. R & R

And to nonregistered reviewers:

Unnamed Guest - thank you. thanks for reviewing

Smithy - I hear you. I think it's gone now, but yeah I agree it's not helping anything and as a Christian myself it's just making us look stupid. But yeah I did have a good holiday, thanks. Hope yours was well as well. Thanks for reviewing again, more father/son convos will come up in the future.

HenryxCarina - aww thanks. I'm not going anywhere, the chapters will keep on coming :) Hoping to update at least once a week. Thanks for reviewing.

ButtKraken - aww thanks. You're so kind. Thanks for reviewing! :)

She-elf - i think that as much as he didn't know his dad growing up he always still knew Will loved him and therefore loved his father back as well. I really like writing them interacting with each other so i'm glad you liked how it turned out. Thanks for reviewing again! :)


	9. Growing Up

Chapter 9: Growing Up

 **Will's POV:**

"So since we saved your life?" I asked Captain Jack Sparrow, "You care to help us save ours?"

"See that would imply," Jack answered, "That you didn't save my life just because you like me, but because you now plan to use it as leverage against me."

Elizabeth sighed behind me. "Let the selkie out of the brig," she suggested, "Then after she convinces Jack to kill himself we'll take the Pearl from him."

I was pretty sure she was joking, but she seemed somewhat too serious. As much as Jack might not have always been my favorite person, I liked him enough to not wish such a fate upon him. He had undoubtedly caused us trouble in the past, and spending time with Jack of course meant more trouble was to come, but then again trouble seemed to be following us regardless. Was Jack really to blame?

He had his flaws. Many years ago he had sent me to the Dutchman to settle his debt with Jones, knowing no one normally leaves the Dutchman once upon it. He had thrown me overboard of the Pearl before when I was trying to leave a breadcrumb trail of bodies for Beckett. He'd even had me locked in the brig right before that. He had kissed Elizabeth, even if she technically started it (which she only did to distract him so she could kill him).

Yet, one could argue Jack had known I'd find a way to defeat Jones eventually and I had been able to leave the Dutchman, having sworn no oath. He hadn't raised an alarm when I escaped that brig and he had known I could escape it before he even put me in the cell. He even gave me his compass before tossing me to Beckett, securing my survival aboard Beckett's ship and still allowing me a way to find him as well as all the other pirates at Shipwreck Cove. Elizabeth's kiss I couldn't quite explain, but to be fair she had started it and he was Jack...

More importantly than all that though, there was no denying that he had saved my life. He was the reason I was able to stab Jones' heart. He could have easily stabbed it himself, securing his immortality even, but he chose to help me stab it instead.

That didn't mean I trusted Jack. That didn't mean I liked the idea of my son hanging around him. It didn't mean I liked relying on him once again. However, it did mean that I owed him a lot.

Not to mention, on top of everything else, he had even helped my son on his quest to free me from my curse. Yes, like it or not, I really did owe Jack a lot more than I necessarily cared to admit.

"Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie," Jack taunted, snapping me back into the present. "You're just mad cause Alva got further with me than you ever did."

Elizabeth flinched. "Hardly," she replied.

Jack grinned in response. "You know," he began, moving towards her.

I wasn't sure what he planned on saying next and I also wasn't sure I wanted to find out. It could have been innocent, maybe, but that was my wife. Comparing her to Alva was not okay!

This was why I had such a hard time with Jack. I liked the man. I owed him a lot. Yet, sometimes I could almost kill him.

"Jack!," I interrupted, "We need the Pearl."

Jack turned to face me again leaving Elizabeth alone for the time being. "You need the Pearl?" he repeated, "And I suppose you think I'll just hand it over?"

"I'm not asking you to hand it over," I argued, "Just help us."

"You know," Jack said, almost ignoring me, "How is one to know that Elizabeth here isn't a selkie?"

"What?" I asked.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm not."

"Well you did get a man to die for you," Jack shrugged.

Elizabeth placed her hand just below her neck by her chest, almost in a defensive motion, and gasped. "What?" she asked, "Who? You?"

Jack shook his head. "I didn't die _for_ you, I died _because_ of you. And here I was trying to avoid talking about all that for dear Henry's sake here. And now he knows his mummy's a murderess," he said, pouting, then turned to face Henry.

"Though you should know, Henry" he continued, "She did immediately go to save my life afterwards." He turned to face Elizabeth again. "Perhaps we should let bygones be bygones, aye luv?" he suggested.

"Though regarding trust," Jack continued, "Let me assure you, luv, there'll be no trusting given to you here… trust given to you here? Me trusting you here? Trusting of you here? … regardless I shall not be trusting you with anything, savvy?" He grinned. "That includes trusting you when you say you're not a selkie. Men seem to fall for you left and right now, don't they? We must admit that's odd."

"Jack," Elizabeth protested.

"But regarding the man you got to die for you, now there I was talking about William here."

Elizabeth sighed. "Jack this is ridiculous. I am not a selkie."

Carina drew her sword and stepped forward pointing it toward Jack. "That's enough of this. You will help us find my father and outrun Davy Jones."

Jack stepped forward and put his hand on the edge of her sword, pushing it down and away from him. "And just why would I be doing this, luv?" he asked.

"Because you owe Mr. Turner," Carina explained, "He saved your life."

"Firstly," Jack said, shaking his finger in the air towards her. "It's _Captain_ Turner. Secondly, let's call him William shall we? And thirdly if we want to play the life saving game, I do believe I've won, savvy?"

Carina lightly shook her head as her lips twisted and her left eyebrow raised.

Jack continued regardless. "Also, one could argue, that really no life saving did indeed occur today since I was not, nor would I have ever been, at the point where I was ready to commit suicide should this selkie have left me because, luv, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. I don't fall hard enough for life to end should the woman leave.

Them Turners though, if you're smart you'll run from them now, luv, before they teach you all about falling in love hard enough to get yourself killed over it. Runs in the family I hear. Unless of course, you already have fallen with dear Henry here, then well… go get yourself killed, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Not to mention, since the trident has been destroyed, thus destroying all sea curses with it, one could argue I was never really in need of life saving, now was I? Since the selkie couldn't and in fact still can't shed her human skin, it'd seem she really can't leave me to die anyways if I were even to want to die over her departure. Thus, making her curse nonexistent.

So did dear William here save my life or did he merely save me from a loveless, lovely, stupid romance? Which one could almost argue to be ironic since he himself fell over a lovely, stupid romance. But, to the best of our knowledge anyway, Elizabeth here is indeed not a selkie and thus he should maybe, perhaps, possibly be okay. Might want to avoid Jones though, I hear he has bad luck with 'im. Savvy?"

The four of us just stood there for a moment trying to take in everything he had said. I wasn't exactly sure how to respond and it seemed like no one else was either.

"Jack?" Henry asked, somewhat timidly, breaking the silence.

Jack turned to face him, as did we all.

"I know my family owes you more than we can ever give you," Henry stated, "You helped me free my father when no one else believed in me. You taught me about the unscratchable itch. You almost let Salzar kill you when he possessed my body to avoid harming me yourself. And, as I just learned, you apparently are the only reason my father is even alive today; you having helped him stab Jones' heart and sacrificing your own immortality in the process. You're a good man Captain Jack Sparrow.

But now I must ask you, as simply a friend, for your help one last time. Please Jack. There's no faster ship in the Caribbean than the Pearl. We need your help. I humbly ask, that you would join us in finding the Dutchman, defeating Jones, and whatever other obstacles we may come across along the way.

I can promise you in return, not real immortality as you so kindly sacrificed in my father's favor (which I am forever grateful for), but a form of immortality nonetheless. I can promise, on my word, that if you join us and do this for us, Jack, I'll see to it personally that your name will be known forever. No longer will you simply be Captain Jack Sparrow the pirate, but instead you'll be Captain Jack Sparrow the fearsome pirate who helped save the former Captain of the Flying Dutchman and the Pirate King—two names who we both know are well known among any pirate gossip circle. Your name shall go down in history. Your story shall be told for decades to come."

Jack grinned momentarily then his expression returned to its normal stance. He soon grinned again then pointed at Elizabeth. "I like him," he said, "See he wants my name to go down in history and yet you can't even tell it to your own son."

Elizabeth sighed. I knew she was not normally one to apologize and I doubted that this situation would be any different. Elizabeth's one flaw was that she was absolutely terrible at admitting when she was wrong. Her pride got in the way of that almost every single time.

"Alright, I'll do it," Jack agreed. He then turned to face Henry. "But when you and that one," he said pointing to Carina, "Procreate you remember this moment."

Both Henry and Carina blushed an awful shade of red. I could hardly blame either of them. The thought of Henry procreating almost caused myself to blush.

~0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-~

Because I'd spent so much of his life separated from him, many times in my own mind I viewed Henry as nothing more than a boy. I could clearly see that he was a young man, but I wasn't ready to quite face that as a reality yet. I liked the idea of Henry courting a girl, the idea of him falling in love for the first time, but I think until Jack mentioned him "procreating" I saw it as nothing more than a young teenage crush. Henry was not a teenager though, nor was Carina. They were adults. My son was an adult.

I stood towards the edge of the ship's deck contemplating all these things alone that night. I ran my left hand along the railing at a steady pace, my feet remaining solitary. I grabbed onto the railing with my right hand as well, squeezing it with all my might as though it might break in half from the force I was applying to it. My left continued running up and down the railing by the place I stood.

I sighed heavily and leaned forward looking towards the endless amount of sea in front of me. I hated the bloody sea. I had looked at nothing, but sea for years on the Dutchman. I'd been forced to sail for years without being allowed to set foot on land.

I stood straight up again and lifting my left hand punched the railing with full force, grunting as I did so. I could feel the anger rising up inside my entire body. I was almost shaking from the intensity of it.

Jones had stole time from me, time with my son. Henry's childhood had been taken from me. His teenage years had been taken from me. It was time I would never get back.

I felt the anger leave my body. I noticed my eyes beginning to slightly water and I blinked back a couple tears. Jones had taken too much. He would not also get my tears.

I felt my teeth clench together. The anger was starting to build within me again. I contracted my jaw and took a few loud breathes in and out to steady myself.

I hit the railing with my left hand again at full force. I wanted to remain calm, but the thought of Jones causing me to miss so much of Henry's life was too much.

It wasn't a though I had never thought about this before. Aboard the Dutchman I had far too much time to contemplate such things. Yet, it was different then. Henry was still a boy in my mind, a boy that unfortunately was growing up without a father, but a boy who was staying a boy. In my mind I had missed time, but not this much time. It was real now.

"Will?" I heard Elizabeth call behind me. She must have come to fetch me when I still hadn't come to join her in bed.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned, joining me at the edge of the ship.

I stood there beside her silently. I wasn't sure what to say, where to begin. I could hear my own breathing and I'm sure she could too. I stood starring at the sea directly ahead, not even taking the time to blink, frowning.

We stood there in silent for quiet awhile as she waited for my response. Standing beside me she too placed her hands on the ship's railing and blankly looked towards the sea as well, her hair blowing in the wind.

"Henry's grown up," I finally mumbled with little emotion, still starring out to the sea. I stopped breathing so loudly and felt my shoulders drop the tension in them that I'd barely even realized was there.

"He has," Elizabeth stated, still looking towards the sea. Then she turned towards me and pulling my own body to face her, pulled me into a hug. "Oh Will!" she gasped into my chest, squeezing me tighter, "I can't even begin to imagine what this must be like for you."

As I moved my arms to return my wife's hug, I felt the anger begin to release it's hold on me. I sighed and lightly rested my head on top of hers, but I could not look at her, not then. My head, still on top of hers, turned from my body to face the seemingly endless sea, frowning immensely.

Elizabeth turned her head towards the sea as well, gazing at it she spoke."If it's any consolidation," she began just above a whisper, "Grown up or not he still needs his father."

I said nothing, nor did I move. I wasn't entirely sure she was right.

"Just this afternoon," Elizabeth continued, "His father saved him from a selkie. And it was his father who convinced him to put on the necklace that would save him from the witch's curse, was it not? And if you think he's not going to need female-courting advice from his father, well let me assure you that he will."

I felt a small smile brush up onto my lips. I tightened my grip on Elizabeth slightly.

I heard footsteps coming towards us from behind. "Uhhh mum? Dad?" Henry stammered from behind us.

Elizabeth and I let go of each other to turn around and face our son. Once we were facing in his direction I quickly gently pulled Elizabeth right beside me again and held my arm against her back, my hand coming in to hold her along her side. I wanted her to know how much her presence meant to me and hoped my nonverbal cues would get my point across.

It clearly worked as she leaned her head into my shoulder. "Yes, Henry?" she asked.

"I'm… I'm sorry to interrupted all this," he apologized, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, his eyes running along the ground. "It's just that… I… did you really kill Captain Jack Sparrow, mum?"

Elizabeth pulled her head up from upon my shoulder and sighed. She stepped forward, away from me, but closer to Henry. I moved my arm back to my side instead of it's former place around her.

"That," she replied, "Is a long story indeed."

Elizabeth grinned mischievously. "What do you remember of krakens?" she asked.

"Foul breath," Henry answered instantly, excited, "Just like you said in the story you told of dad fighting one once before he was made Captain of the Dutchman. The foul breathe is a warning, smell it and your end is near and dad smelt it once when you were on a ship together. I remember the story. I remember all the stories you told of father.

The kraken was ready to attack, but your crew, on dad's command, fired gun powder into the kraken's mouth. It didn't kill it, but gave you time to escape.

From what I've read, krakens never leave survivors, making you and father, as well as your crew, one of a kind. I've read that under ever other circumstance a kraken takes down ships with it's huge tentacles, squeezing the ship in the middle," he continued, still excitedly, gesturing out the actions with his hands as he spoke. "They break the ship right in half and as they do so their tentacles pull the two halves of the ship to the depths, leaving no survivors. There is no written record of anyone surviving. From all my research, all I can conclude is that you and dad, and your crew, are the only survivors ever."

Elizabeth's grin turned into a smile. "Almost entirely correct," she answered, "Except there were never multiple krakens, only one. And while rarely leaving survivors, survivors did escape on occasion, how else would the story have lived on? And there's one other thing your books didn't know about the kraken..."

"What? What is it?" Henry asked, smiling, eagerly awaiting her answer.

I couldn't help, but feel as though I was getting a small glimpse into how living with a much younger version of Henry would have been. He clearly loved his mother's pirate stories and it was almost as though her telling him one brought him back to the way I imagined he was a young child. He was so excited and so eager to hear more. I smiled watching the two of them interact in this way.

"Jones commanded the kraken," Elizabeth answered, "It was his pet."

Henry's smile left as he looked downwards. "Davy Jones?" he asked, "So he was after dad long before he killed him?"

"Not quite," Elizabeth answered, the smile leaving her face. She pouted as she too became very interested in the ground in front of her. She sighed and slowly blinked, opening her mouth to speak. The words came out slowly at first. "I… Henry's there's..," she began then quickened her pace. "There's something I never told you."

I stepped forward and reached for her hand, squeezing it tightly within my own. She looked in my direction for a very quick moment and nodded with her eyes, almost as if to say thank you. Then she looked back towards Henry and continued. There was slightly more confidence in her voice now than before, but she still clearly remained upset.

"That story I told you of your father defeating the kraken," she explained to Henry,"We didn't simply escape the kraken because of the gun powder we threw into its' mouth." She sighed.

Henry frowned. His one hand began playing with the edge of his vest as his eyes focused on anything, but his mother.

"Jack was on that ship with us," Elizabeth admitted, quietly, looking downwards again.

"Jack?" Henry asked, his brow furrowing as both his hands turned into fists. "As in Captain Jack Sparrow?" he asked in disbelief, "As in the captain I spent almost my whole life looking for?"

Elizabeth sighed as her eyes began to water. "Henry, looking for Jack was dangerous. I told you that."

"But you never told me you'd known him," Henry said, accusingly, "You knew I was looking for him and you failed to mention that one little detail."

Elizabeth began to shake slightly and no longer attempted to keep the tears in her eyes as they slowly begin to fall out. She moved closer to our son as she let go of my hand and clasped her own two hands together in front of her. "Henry," she said, shaking her head, "I never met to hurt you. It's just Jack, pirates, they're dangerous. If you'd found the trident of Posiedon, but died in the process I would have never forgiven myself and I knew your father wouldn't have either. It was so much safer for you to be off with the navy than chasing after pirates. I didn't want to encourage your quest for Jack by telling you I'd known him."

Elizabeth stepped forward towards Henry again, but as she did so he took a step back. His hands remained in fists. His eyes squinted as he looked downwards again shaking his head.

"I can't believe you'd lie to me," he said, shaking his head. "You knew I was looking for Jack and you'd kept this from me. And apparently killed him before as well?" he asked. I could tell that as angry as he was, he too was trying to blink away some tears.

Elizabeth slowly nodded closing her eyes. She opened them again and swallowed deeply. "I left Jack to the kraken," she admitted, frowning. "I handcuffed him to the ship and left him there so it would devour him. The kraken was after Jack, not us. That's the only reason we survived it's attack."

Henry shook his head again then finally made eye contact with her once more. "I can't believe you never told me."

"I felt guilty about it every night, Henry," she explained, "But I was only trying to protect you." Elizabeth sighed, tears still continuing to drop from her eyes.

I wasn't about to just stand by and not say anything. This was my family here. For years small fights had probably broken out between the two of them from time to time, as happens in every family. Before I may have never been around to help make peace, but this time I was there. I understood why Henry was angry, but as a parent, I also completely understood why Elizabeth had kept everything from him.

"She did immediately join us in finding a way to save Jack's life," I pointed out, stepping forwards to be more directly involved in their conversation.

"But she still didn't tell me any of this," Henry protested, shaking his head and frowning.

I noticed his fists release finally, as his hands simply dangled by his sides again. 'Good,' I thought, 'He was calming down.'

"She never meant to hurt you, Henry," I explained, "You've seen for yourself how dangerous the life Jack leads can be."

Elizabeth nodded silently while Henry frowned. "I don't think that justifies lying," he argued, quietly.

Elizabeth nodded. "I'm sorry, Henry," she apologized, "I know your angry, but trust me when I say that everything I kept from you was in an attempt to protect you." She walked towards him and this time he didn't step away. She gently placed an arm on his shoulder as she continued. "I love you, Henry," she said, "And I hope one day you'll understand."

Henry said nothing in response and went back to starring down the floor boards again. Elizabeth still frowning, silently walked by him and left to head under deck.

Neither Henry nor I said anything for quite some time. Henry looked like he was once again trying to fight back tears. I had hoped he would open up to me, say something, but he was much too interested in the floorboards.

After a while, I couldn't stand the silence anymore. I sighed heavily, intentionally loud enough for him to hear. "One day son," I explained, "You'll have children of your own and you'll understand."

Henry lightly huffed. "If I live long enough to do so," he mumbled.

"What do you mean, son?" I asked.

"I almost got myself killed today," he said, shuffling his one foot, but still starring at those floorboards. "I saw a pretty girl and nearly gave up everything for her, including my life. Maybe mum was right, none of these sort of things happened before I found Jack. Now my life's tied to a cursed necklace, crazy sea creatures like selkies are coming along trying to hurt us, we're surrounded by pirates left and right..."

"Henry," I said, cutting him off. "I think you're making the mistake of thinking your mum doesn't regret lying to you."

He looked up from the floor, finally and met my eyes. "What?" he asked.

"Your mother loves you, Henry. She only lied in an attempt to help keep you safe. But you're not a child anymore. You're old enough now to make your own choices, to go on your own adventures. You proved that when you pushed Carina out of the way at the witch's and brought that curse upon yourself or when (against your mother's and my wishes) you went and found Jack and sailed to find the trident. Yes, it was dangerous, but you're now a grown up Henry. If you choose to embark on pirate adventures, we can't and won't stop you. We'll be here by your side instead (a pirating family if you will) as long as you want us here, perhaps even longer.

If your mother knew then what she knows now, she wouldn't have lied to you about Jack. She only did it out of protection and love for you. I know her and I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that she now wishes that she'd told you the truth. She simply didn't want to encourage your pirating quest and see you get hurt."

Henry nodded, then frowned again as he turned to me with a puzzled look on his face. "Why does she hate Jack so much?" he asked.

To an extent a part of me wondered that myself. I understood her distaste for the man, but I did think that she could also afford to be a little more grateful towards him.

"Your mother," I answered, "Has a complicated history with Jack. After all she did kill him."

Henry laughed just slightly. It was nice to see him easing up and acting more like his normal self.

"Another thing, Henry," I said, "Don't beat yourself up over some selkie. If Jack was right about one thing, it's that this selkie thing was beyond your control. You survived. Sometimes that's all that matters."

Henry nodded.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, son," I said, repeating the same thing I had said to him earlier. "As I've said before, you didn't do anything with the selkie. Carina may be somewhat angry, but she's a woman," I shrugged, "Women get jealous easily. I consider it a good thing. If she wasn't interested in you, she wouldn't care if you looked at another woman."

Henry grinned and nodded.

"She'll forgive you Henry," I said, nodding as well.

Henry stood thinking for a moment as his hair blew in the wind. "Do you think I should tell her," he asked, breaking the silence, "About the necklace?"

I thought to myself for a moment. I barely knew my own son, yet alone his significant other. I had no idea how she'd react to such news. I had a hard enough time predicting how Elizabeth would react to the news, contemplating myself if I should tell her all the twists that were involved with the necklace's spell. I certainly could not predict how a woman I barely knew would react. That was when it dawned on me though, it wasn't my job to predict how Carina would react. She wasn't my woman. She was Henry's.

"I think," I responded, "That you know the answer to that better than anyone else."

Henry bit his lip then he smiled. "You were right about one thing, dad," he grinned.

"What's that?" I asked.

"She did forgive me for the selkie," he smiled, "I talked to her about it earlier tonight. She wasn't too happy about the whole thing, but she was… or tried to be understanding, as best as a woman can I suppose."

I chuckled slightly.

"I found out something else too," he shyly smiled.

"What's that?" I asked.

Henry's eyes lit up as his smile grew. "She loves me dad," he exclaimed. "I told her that I loved her. I had to. I couldn't keep it to myself anymore. I mean, I almost died this afternoon because of that stupid selkie. What if I had died without her knowing how I felt?

So I went to her bed quarters, don't tell mum she'll freak out, but it really wasn't a big deal. Carina was fully clothed as was I. Neither of us had changed into our night garments yet. I mean, we did shut the door, but only because there are so many pirates on this ship and I wanted some privacy. One doesn't just tell his feelings for a woman out in the open within a crowd now does he?"

I laughed to myself thinking how that was exactly what I had done when I first told Elizabeth that I loved her.

"Anyway, nothing inappropriate happened," he continued, "We were fully clothed and everything… I'm not… I'm not ready for anything more and it would destroy Carina's honor with us not being married."

He was so afraid I was going to judge him for being in a room alone with a woman. I wondered how exactly his mother had hammered all these ideas of propriety into his head. I found it amusing, but personally, I just wished he'd get to the point.

"So anyway," he continued, finally moving the story along. "I told her I had to talk to her and that was when I mentioned everything about the selkie and apologized. She was a little angry, but understanding considering everything.

Then I told her that the selkie needed to use a spell for her beauty to work on me whereas Carina had no spell and yet her beauty still managed to make my stomach flop. Apparently, that wasn't very romantic. She seemed a little appalled at that so I quickly changed my wording."

I laughed. Sometimes it was so clear that Carina was the first girl he had really spent any time interacting with in this way.

"So I told her," Henry continued, "That what I really meant was that she was more beautiful than any woman I'd ever meant, even the selkie. She sort of cringed at the mention of the selkie so I took it as a hint to stop mentioning the selkie entirely and to just focus on Carina.

I told her that her presence alone gave me butterflies. That was what I really meant when I'd said she made my stomach flop, but I didn't add that cause I didn't want to bring that up again.

Anyway, I told her how I'd never intended to find anyone I cared about while I was searching for my father. Saving him was to be my only priority and I couldn't afford distractions. But the more time I spent with her, the more I talked to her, the more I realized that it was going to become incredibly hard not to get distracted from my task at hand.

I fought internally to deny my feelings for her. I couldn't be distracted. But I was terrible at fighting them and found myself more and more interested in her.

After we broke Poseidon's trident and went back to land, the thought of her leaving me quickly became unbearable. I couldn't imagine my life anymore without her in it. So I kissed her while we waited for you to come home that day, dad.

Her lips on mine brought out feelings I had never felt before. I had never kissed another woman. I had been far too focused on saving my father, I'd told her. It was true too, dad."

I nodded, not doubting it. He clearly didn't have much experience with women.

"She leaned towards me then, dad, and kissed me right then and there. Make sure you definitely don't tell mum that, she'd have a fit if she knew I kissed a girl behind closed doors by a bed. But we didn't go on the bed, dad. We didn't!"

I nodded and stopped myself from laughing. He was so serious and so concerned.

"I wanted to just stand there and kiss her forever," he smiled, gazing upwards, "But I also knew I had to tell her something so I broke us apart. That's when I told her, dad.

'Carina,' I'd said, 'I love you.'

I just got it out, just like that, dad. I didn't know if it was too fast or not, but I just… I had to get it out before I left without doing so again. She needed to know. I wanted her to know."

I nodded.

"And you know what she said, dad?" he continued, smiling possibly bigger than I'd ever seen him smile before. "She said she loved me too."

I smiled as well, happy for my son.

The smile left his face as he bit his lip. "I want to tell her, at least that I'm wearing the necklace now," he explained, returning to his dilemma from earlier. "I don't want her worrying that I could suddenly die because my blood is owed to a witch. But I don't know if I should tell her how my feelings toward her are tied to the necklace."

I stopped myself from nodding and tried to remain expressionless, not wanting him to misinterpret anything I did as a sign to tell or not to tell her. "That's something you need to determine for yourself," I answered honestly. Perhaps the hardest part of parenting was admitting when I needed to butt out and let my son figure out things for himself.

Henry nodded in understanding. Inside I was relieved that he didn't pressure me for more answers. I didn't know how much longer I could fight him on this before giving him my own opinion, but I knew it would be best if he figured this one out on his own.

Henry smiled again suddenly.

"What is it, son?" I asked.

"Dad," he whispered, his smile growing, "A girl loves me."

I remembered being young and in love. It was scary to tell a woman one's true feeling, especially when you were uncertain how she would respond or how she felt back. Any onlooker could have seen for awhile that Carina clearly liked Henry, probably even loved him. I remembered being young and in a potentially non-reciprocated love though. If my son was anything like me he'd probably been doing anything to convince himself that she didn't care for him and I sense that he was almost too much like me in the matter. I fully understood his relief at finding out he wasn't just in love with a girl, but was also loved back by the same girl.

I nodded and smiled at him.

It was odd to think that earlier that same night I had been worried that my son was all grown up and barely in need of a father anymore. Elizabeth was right. Grown up or not Henry still needed his father and now he could finally have him.

That reminded me though that there was someone else aboard the ship who was very distraught after a fight she'd had with her son who likely needed me also and now finally I was able to be there for her as well.

I bid my son goodnight, leaving him in quite a happy trance—him being still surprised that the girl he cared for loved him in return. I hoped that I could also perhaps find a way to get Elizabeth to smile again as well.

* * *

A/N:

ugh this chapter started off as such a nightmare to write. I had the hardest time figuring out how they were going to convince Jack and how he would respond to everything they said. Then that conversation between Will and Henry kept getting rewritten because I couldn't settle on whether he should already have talked to Carina or still be preparing to do so. Honestly, if you read my first 3 rough drafts they are nothing like how this chapter finally turned out.

I do want to say a huge shout out to a fellow amazing Willabeth writer, Pats4Life, who via pms gave me some great advice that helped me shape the interaction with Jack into what it became. :)

And huge shoutouts to everyone who reviewed last chapter as well! I loved all your reviews and would reply to them normally here, but it's literally past midnight and this silly chapter with it's millions of rewrites, I have been messing around with since probably 4pm tonight. I'm sorry guys, but I am tired and would love to acknowledge everybody, but there simply just isn't time right now and I feel like you'd probably rather I get this out here now than make you wait til whenever I have a chance late tomorrow.

That being said though, if you could all be so kind to please let me know your thoughts on how this turned out. I'm hoping the end result was worth the pain I suffered through to get this to the point where it's at now. Okay, well I must finally have dinner and then sleep. Thanks for reading this chapter and my pointless rambles at the end. ;) Thanks for continued support everyone! :)


	10. A Singing Man

A/N:

 _Disclaimer: Not only do I not only Pirates of the Caribbean or anything associated with it, but I also don't own the song the character is singing in this chapter. I cannot write song so I took two songs written by Rogers and Hammerstein from their musical Cinderella and sort of combined them into one. If anyone's interested they're called "Loneliness of Evening" and "the Prologue"._

* * *

Chaper 10: A Singing Man

 **Elizabeth's POV:**

I sat in the room under deck that I shared with Will alone in the dark, sitting on the bed, starring at the wall contemplating everything that had just occurred. Henry and I didn't fight often, but it wasn't like this was our first fight. That being said though, this one somehow felt a little bigger than any we'd had before. I'd lied to him about Jack and now he knew. I'd only done it to protect him though, hadn't I? Yes, if he'd known that I knew Jack he would have been even more motivated to go after him. I'd done the right thing, hadn't I? I wasn't even sure anymore.

I heard the door open behind me, but didn't move. A part of me secretly hoped it was Henry, but another part of me knew better.

"Elizabeth," Will's voice echoed from behind me.

I turned to face him. I couldn't stop myself if I'd wanted to. Whenever he called I would instantly turn. It was uncontrollable.

"Are you alright?" Will asked, frowning.

I felt myself frown as well. "Is Henry alright?" I asked, avoiding his original question. My answer to Will's question greatly depended on his answer to my own. When I'd left Henry, he had still seemed very upset towards me. I hoped that Will had at least been able to calm him down.

Will sighed. "Henry will be fine," he answered, sitting down beside me.

I looked downwards at my hands and fiddled with them. That wasn't what I'd wanted to hear. 'Will be fine' was a lot different than ' _was_ fine.' I shook my head, looking back up at Will again.

"I don't know why I thought he would never find out about Jack," I admitted.

Will nudged himself closer towards me on our bed. "You did what you did to help keep him safe," he replied, calmly.

I looked back at my hands again. I didn't want to look at him. I felt too ashamed about lying to Henry.

"He'll forgive you in time," Will said, lifting his hand to gently rub my shoulder.

As much as this was the greatest fight Henry and I had ever endured, in a way it felt easier than all the other ones. That was because Will was there. Him sitting there beside me made all the difference.

I turned to face Will again and a small smile swept across my lips. "He will," I agreed, "He inherited his father's forgiving nature."

Will smiled in return his eyes dancing with my own.

I was so relieved that we were over all the confusion Jack's death originally brought. Many years ago Will thought I loved Jack, but those days and those worries were long past. At first I had worried that perhaps all this talk of Jack and the kraken would cause some resentment between Will and I again as we both knew the one piece of information we had left out when telling the story to Henry—the kraken had only got Jack because I had chained him to the ship while distracting him with a kiss.

Perhaps if I were to be truly honest, a very small part of me did want to know what it would taste like to be with a man who was so free and not bound by any laws and expectations of society. Those feelings all quickly vanished, immediately after I'd tried it though. They hadn't really meant anything ever. I knew then just as I knew now, Will was and always would be the only one for me.

Will leaned closer to me and brushed a stray hair out of my face and gently placed it back behind my ear. His hand moved to caress my cheek gently as his lips moved in to meet my own. The kiss was passionate. I wanted and hoped it would perhaps have turn into something more. It had been awhile since we had any time for romance. However, I stopped when I heard a nearby voice and not just any voice, but a singing voice. Something felt off.

The voice began to sing:

" _I wake in the loneliness of sunrise,  
_ _Where the deep purple haven turns blue,  
_ _And start to pray,  
_ _As I pray each day,  
_ _That I'll hear some word from you."_

I broke apart from Will and leaned back slightly. "Do you hear that?" I asked.

Will nodded. "Who is that?"

The voice continued singing;

" _I lie in the loneliness of evening,  
_ _Looking out on a silver flaked sea."_

"I don't know," I replied, "But it sounds almost like it's coming from the sea."

Will and I both leaned across the bed in our small quarters and looked out of the porthole. The room was so small we barely had to move to do so.

What I saw was a rather strange sight indeed. Out in the middle of the sea was a man on a small row boat. It was undoubtedly dangerous to have nothing but a dingy this far out at sea. There was no land in sight and should any sort of storm approach the man would not stand a chance at survival.

The other thing that was odd was that the man was wearing no shirt, another thing I wouldn't particularly recommend doing out at sea as the nights could grow very cold. He wore some sort of necklace against his chest that had a cross on the end. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail with a few pieces hanging out.

He continued to sing:

" _And ask the moon,  
_ _Oh how soon?  
_ _How soon?  
_ _Will my love return to me?"_

"There's a man out there in a rowboat!" I said to Will, as thought he wasn't able to see for himself,"We have to take him on board! Something must be wrong, why else would he be out there alone?"

I quickly jumped off the bed and headed towards the door of our small room. Before anyone could stop me I ran to the steps reaching to the deck above as I did so yelling, "Man overboard!"

Will followed behind me. We both leaned over the side of the ship and saw the man. Oddly, the man seemed to act as though our ship wasn't even there. I looked at Will and turned behind me to make orders.

"Prepare to bring him aboard!" I called.

A few crew members turned and begin to walk towards the edge of the ship, but Jack quickly stopped them.

"No!" he yelled, coming up from behind us. "No, no, no, no! Don't bring the man aboard! As you were men, as you were!"

The crew members that were listening to me instantly turned and walked away.

"We can't just leave him there," I argued, "He'll die!"

Jack shrugged. "He doesn't seem too worried about that."

He was right. The man still seemed oblivious to anything that was happening around him. He simply continued singing:

" _Will my love return to me?  
_ _I have found her,  
_ _She's an angel,  
_ _With the depths of the stars in her eyes."_

Will stepped between Jack and I. "Oblivious or not," he protested, "We can't just leave him there!"

Henry suddenly came running up from under the deck as well. "There's a man out there!" he yelled, facing the crew members that were still on deck. "Man overboard! We must bring him aboard!"

"No!" Jack yelled to the crew, "Don't listen to him either."

They shrugged and went on with their business.

"We can't just leave him there," Henry protested, "We're too far out to sea. He could die."

Jack lifted his finger and began waving it as he replied. "There," he began, "Are too many Turners aboard me ship."

"You can't just leave him there, Jack," Henry argued.

"And not only are there too many Turners," Jack continued, ignoring Henry. "But there are too many uneducated Turners." He stopped waving his finger and frowned. "Really Henry I would have thought better of you."

Henry crinkled his nose as his mouth twisted. "What?" he asked.

"When the trident broke a bunch of cursed beings were released from their curses," Jack explained, sternly "Which in turns means those dangerous beings are roaming the sea and likely seeking revenge against their enemies. So if we find an odd man in the middle of the sea singing some pathetic song do we bring him aboard my ship and hope he's innocent and thus risk bringing a previously cursed pirate on me ship?"

We all stood in silence for a moment starring at Jack.

"No," Jack said, shaking his head. "The answer is no. No! NO!"

The man continued singing again. This time he somehow seemed sadder, almost as though he would break into tears at any moment.

" _I lie in the loneliness of evening,  
_ _Looking out on a silver flaked sea,  
_ _And ask the moon oh how soon,  
_ _How soon,  
_ _Will my love come home to me."_

Henry starred forward, frowning as his drooped. "We really did start quite a mess by breaking the trident, didn't we?"

Jack nodded then shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Syrena!" the man suddenly yelled, no longer singing. "Syrena, where are you?!"

Jack flinched. "Well anyways, let's be going now, forget him."

I couldn't though. That man didn't seem harmful. He seemed heartbroken like he had lost his love and was awaiting her return. That was what he kept singing about, wasn't it? I knew what heartbreak looked like well having experienced it for many, many years when Will was forced into captaining the Dutchman. This was a man in distress not a villain.

"I don't think he's an enemy," I protested, "He seems hurt."

"To lure you in," Jack argued, shrugging again.

"Father!" Henry interrupted, smiling as his eyes lit up, "You know many things about sea myths and creatures. Have you heard of this singing man before?"

Will shook his head. "No."

I bit my lip. This was wrong. We couldn't just leave him there, could we? What if he really was innocent.

"Jack!" I yelled, "We can't just leave him there. Now you and your crew will listen to me and do as I say. Like it or not I am your Pirate King and..."

Jack cut me off before I could finish. "And need I remind you?" he asked, "Why you are Pirate King?"

I felt my teeth grind together. Of course I knew why I was Pirate King. It was because Jack had elected me by being the only pirate to vote for someone other than himself. That didn't mean I thought he deserved any credit for it now though.

"Mother?" Henry asked, holding his mouth open, nodding for me to continue, when I said nothing.

"When you elected me Pirate King," I replied facing Jack, "You forfeited your right to use that against me."

"You're Pirate King because Jack elected you?" Henry asked as his eyebrows furrowed.

There I was trying to help ease the tension between Henry and I and Jack was making it worse again.

"And don't forget it!" Jack exclaimed in response to Henry, grinning.

"Why does it seem like you spent far more time with Jack than you ever let on?" Henry asked. I noticed that his breathing was starting to get heavy. His eyebrows continued to furrow as his frown grew.

"Henry," I cried, "I never meant to hurt you."

It was all I could say. I could barely justify having kept the truth from him anymore. I'd only done so in hope of protecting him from a fate similar to his father's.

I turned to face Jack again, eyeing him. "I owe you nothing, Jack," I said, coldly.

Henry pulled his left hand into a fist. "The more I learn," he said, gritting his teeth, "The more it seems that isn't true at all."

I could not believe I was really having this argument with my son. I hated Jack. I hated him with every ounce of my being.

"Everything terrible in my life," I began, turning to Jack angrily, "Was because of you. My wedding was ruined because my fiance was arrested because he helped you by saving from you from your own hanging. Instead of thanking him you went and threw him aboard the Dutchman with Davy Jones to help pay your debt to the evil man. Then when Will escaped, Jones killed him. Would Jones have even known him if you hadn't just tossed him aboard the Dutchman in the first place? No, he wouldn't have known him to kill him! And my father..."

"Elizabeth," Will said, calmly, cutting me off before I could continue my rant, "Jones killed me because we were in love. That had nothing to do with Jack."

I could feel the anger begin to burn inside me. I felt the heat radiating from my cheeks as my jaw clenched.

"I remember that day clearly," I spat, "I've had nightmares upon nightmares of it. Jack had Jones' heart. He could have stabbed it right then and there, stopping Jones forever, but did he? No. He had to mumble something about 'holding life and death in one's hand,' giving Jones all the time he needed to stab you, Will. If Jack had just stabbed the heart immediately..."

"If Jack hadn't said anything," Will protested, interrupting me again, "Jones would have killed me right then and there anyway. He would have made sure of it even if took his last breathe out of him to do it. Jack speaking bought us time that's it. If Jack had stabbed Jones heart immediately I'd be dead, Jack would be captaining the Dutchman and Henry would never have been born."

I blinked away the tears that longed to fall. He was wrong.

"But if we'd never got involved with Jack in the first place," I protested, my voice breaking as I fought off the tears, "If he'd never come to Port Royal we could have been together without a twenty-some year curse. My father would still be alive. Henry could have grown up with a real family around."

"Mother," Henry argued, concerned, now him cutting me off instead of Will, "I did grow up with a real family around."

I bit my lip, blinking back more tears. I would not them fall out, not at that moment. While I was happy that my son had me, he could have had so much more. I sighed, very loudly, and opened my mouth to protest.

Now it was Jack's turn to interrupt me only he did so before I could even get a single word out edgewise. "Funny luv," he stated, "I seem to remember everything happening a little differently than the way you seem to put it."

I sighed again.

"Elizabeth," Will said, lovingly, concern for me shining in his eyes. "Jack may not be the greatest man to ever live..."

"I'd argue that," Jack said.

Will continued as if he hadn't even said a word. "But he is a good man. One who did help me to save your life when the pirates took you from Port Royal all those years ago..."

"For his own personal gain!" I argued, cutting him off as well.

Will shrugged. "While that may be true, he did help give me the courage in a sense to admit my true feelings about you."

I couldn't help but to smile at that comment. I quickly brushed the smile off my face though. That was not the time for that.

"And I think," Will continued, "We both know deep down that he had little to nothing to do with your father's death."

That was somewhat true, I supposed.

"And we did agree to fight Jones while he wasn't even aboard our ship," Will continued. Jack began nodding along to everything he said, pouting all the while.

"And he did help in the fight against Jones greatly," Will still continued in his calm, reassuring voice, "And we both know, as much as you for some reason seem to be denying it, Jack is the reason I'm alive today. He saved my life, Elizabeth.

No one could have stopped Jones. None of us saw it coming. But while unable to stop him, Jack still saved me. He could have used the heart for himself and had the immortality he'd always longed for.

Since before we even knew him, Jack was searching for immortality. The cursed Aztec gold, you remember him grabbing one? Why? To gain temporary immortality. Then he only returned it to lift the curse and kill Barbossa."

Henry tilted his head and twisted his face at that comment. I supposed there was a lot we hadn't told him of our pirating adventures like how Barbossa had been killed once before and then returned from the dead by Tia Dalma or as some may call her Calypso, the sea goddess herself.

"And then when Jack had immortality within his grasps," Will went on, "He gave it all up, Elizabeth. For us."

I frowned and closed my eyes for a mere moment taking everything that Will had just said in. He was right. I didn't want him to be right, but I knew he was.

I snuffled as I opened my eyes again. I would not cry though, not in front of Jack and in such a public place where any of the crew could join us at any moment. I looked up and my eyes met Will's. His loving gaze made me somehow feel better in spite of everything.

"Then who is to blame?" I asked, my voice breaking even more than before as I held back sobs.

Will shook his head and walking towards me, wrapped his arms around me. He gently used his hand to tilt my head into his chest and held it there in a protective stance.

"Jones," Henry answered quietly before anyone else could. "Jones is to blame," he said a little louder.

I felt a couple tears run down my face. I couldn't control it anymore. The past twenty-some odd years had been so awful. I just wanted my husband. I just wanted to be a family. Now that I finally had that chance, Jones was trying to ruin it again.

"Mother," Henry continued, shaking his head slowly, "You've been blaming Jack this whole time, who well… perhaps somewhat of a bad luck charm? He really isn't entirely at fault. I mean sure he made some… mistakes from the sound of it… putting father on the Dutchman in the first place and… I'm sure he did some other things… I mean he's… he's Jack… He's a pirate. But… he's a pirate who saved father's life."

Jack shrugged. "Should listen to your family, Lizzie."

I felt my jaw clasp shut again. "Don't," I warned, from my place against Will's chest, "Call me Lizzie."

Jack grinned and I took that as a good sign. If he was mad at me for blaming him for everything he probably wouldn't have grinned, I figured.

"Just," he said, pointing his finger in the air towards me, "Do me one favor, luv."

I rolled my eyes, sighing. "What?"

"When you make more spawns," he replied, grinning, "Tell 'em about me would you?"

I rolled my eyes. Why did he even care? "Fine," I sighed.

I heard Will laugh lightly under his breath. Of course he would find that amusing. Men could be so stubborn.

Suddenly, the man in the boat began to sing again. It was louder this time though.

" _The moon is aglow in autumn yellow,  
_ _And the sea is a robin's egg blue,  
_ _It makes you wish,  
_ _When you fall asleep,  
_ _You will dream about the view."_

"Are we really just going to leave him there?" Henry asked.

I was crying by that point. I didn't care anymore. It wasn't a downright sob, just some quiet tears dripping softly down my face that was still against Will's chest. I felt safe there—safe enough to even cry in front of Jack.

Jack shrugged, frowning.

"You really think he's dangerous?" Will asked, looking at Jack.

Jack just shrugged again.

The man in the rowboat continued to sing;

" _Bizarre and improbable and pretty,_

 _As a page from the fairy tale books."_

"Captain!" Gibbs yelled, running towards us. I supposed he had come up from below deck. I hadn't seen him earlier that night. "Captain, ain't that be the missionary, sir?"

"Aye," Jack nodded.

Gibbs stood there for a moment as though he expected Jack to say more then when Jack didn't he tilted his head slightly and slowly opened his mouth to endure.

"Should we not be taking him aboard, Captain?"

Jack shook his head. "Nope."

"No?" Gibbs asked.

"You mean to tell me you know this man?" Will asked, his stance straightening, but still keeping me in his arms.

"Knew," Jack corrected, "But barely."

"Well is he a vengeful, previously cursed man or not then?" Will asked.

"The missionary?" Gibbs questioned, shaking his head, "No hardly cursed. A little loopy maybe, but not cursed."

"Jack!" I gasped, "Then how can you leave him out there?" I felt my tears drying up as I began to focus on the present dilemma instead of the pain of the past. I could only hope Jack had good reason for leaving the poor man alone, though I doubted it.

"Mr. Gibbs, the last time we left said missionary do you remember where it was that we left him?" Jack asked.

Gibbs shrugged. "Somewhere by the Fountain of Youth?" he asked.

Henry's eyes lit up. "You've been to the Fountain of Youth?" he exclaimed, "It's real too?!"

Jack shrugged. "Quite a let down really."

"What does it matter where you left him?" I asked, raising my head from Will's chest, but still allowing his arms to embrace my body. I didn't want to leave his embrace fully. I liked when he held me especially when I was stressed.

"Mermaids," Jack said as though that was an answer.

Gibbs nodded as if he suddenly understood everything and turned to walk away.

"Mermaids?" I questioned.

"Mermaids," Jack repeated, nodding, again as though that answered everything. It didn't.

Gibbs left and went back under deck to whatever he'd been doing previously, sleeping I presumed.

The man, the missionary as they called him, in the boat continued singing.

" _It makes you wish,  
_ _That the world could be,  
_ _As lovely as it looks."_

"So we're going to leave him there," Henry bided, "Because… mermaids?"

Jack nodded. "Yupp."

"Mermaids?" Henry repeated.

"Mermaids," Jack repeated as well nodding again.

"But," Henry protested, "There's no more curses."

Jack nodded. "But… mermaids."

"So with no more curses," Henry persisted, "Wouldn't that mean the mermaid can't kill us?"

Jack shook his head. "Murder isn't a curse."

"But they can't put us in a trance!" Henry argued, excitedly, "If they can't use their powers to corrupt our minds and pull us to our deaths why does it matter? Why fear them?"

"Do you notice what the man is doing?" Jack asked.

Instantly Henry, Will and I all turned to look to where the man was still singing in his boat. He didn't appear to be doing anything odd. He was just sitting there starring out to sea singing.

" _And so I pray,  
_ _As I pray each day,  
_ _That I'll hear some word from you."_

"He's," Henry answered, unsure, "sitting in a boat?"

Jack sighed. "And?"

Henry's one eyebrow raised as he frowned shaking his head. "And… and starring?" he guessed.

Jack waved his hand in a circular motion, signaling for him to continue. "And?!"

Henry shook his head again. "And… and singing?"

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, "And singing! And why would a man who is known for associating with mermaids be singing?"

Henry nodded, frowning. "Oh."

"What?" I asked, "What did I miss? Why is he singing?"

"He's trying to call the mermaids," Henry answered.

"Why though?" Will posed, "Why call mermaids?"

"That," Jack said, pointing his finger in the air once again, "Is the sort of question which makes him not welcome aboard my ship, savy?"

Will and Henry nodded. I shrugged as I looked at the singing man one last time. He seemed content enough to be left alone. He clearly must have known our ship was nearby, yet he didn't seem to be interested in getting our attention or asking to board.

Something was wrong though. He appeared so distraught. Was it really right to leave him there?

My thoughts were disturbed by a splash in the water below.

"What was that?" Will asked.

Jack shrugged. "Mermaids?"

The four of us ran to the side of the ship where the noise had come from. We looked over the edge and saw exactly what had caused the noise.

"Nope, not mermaids," Jack responded, answering his own question, "Horologist."

There below, Carina was in a small rowboat that had been attached to the side of the ship and was now using it to row out to the missionary. Marty and Scrum were above deck where the rowboat had previously been kept with a few ropes and rope ladder.

"What are you doing?!" Jack asked, throwing his hands in the air in panic and then back down again.

"Miss Barbossa," Scrum answered, "She said we needed to help 'er save the man, she did."

"And since when does anyone other than the captain give orders on the ship!?" Jack yelled.

Marty looked up, holding one of the ropes. "She said she had orders from you."

"Well she lied!" Jack exclaimed, "Anyone who associates with mermaids is not welcomed on me ship, savvy!?

Marty nodded. "So what do we do if she comes back with him?" he asked.

"Leave her," Jack spat.

"Jack!?" Henry protested, stepping forward.

"If she wants to associate with men who associate with mermaids then that's her problem. If she wants to bring them aboard me ship then that's my problem and I say we leave her."

Marty and Scrum nodded and both dropped the ropes they'd been holding.

"Jack!" Henry gasped as his eyes widened.

Jack put his hand on Henry's shoulder. "There'll be other girls, mate."

Henry frowned as his nose begin to flinch. "I don't want other girls!" he argued.

He dodged past Jack, Marty and Scrum and grabbed the rope ladder they had had by them on the floor. "I'm bringing her back aboard the ship," he sternly said, not even looking at Jack, "Whether you like it or not."

"No, no, none of that!"

"Jack!" Will warned as his eyebrows creased.

I reached for my sword and pulled it from it's sheath, facing it towards Jack. "That girl," I cautioned, "Is coming with us. Whether she brings that man along or not."

Jack frowned and pulled out a gun he had on his belt. He pulled the cock and faced it towards me.

Will instantly pulled out his sword in reaction. "You can't kill her and me before I stab you," he warned.

Henry dropped the rope ladder he'd been messing with and jumped between Jack, Will and I. "STOP!" he yelled. "Why are you and my mother," he asked, turning to face Jack, "Always trying to kill each other?"

Jack shrugged and put his gun away. Bloody pirates. This was ridiculous. This sort of thing never happened in my village. I sighed and put my sword away.

"So you agree to let Carina on the ship?" Will asked, still pointing his sword towards Jack.

Jack tilted his head and paused for a moment then nodded. "Yupp," he agreed.

Will began to put his sword away then stopped and lifted it back up again. "With the man?" he questioned.

Jack rolled his eyes. "With the man," he sighed. "I was Captain of this ship once," he mumbled, wiggling his nose. He turned and walked away from us, looking downwards as he did so and kicking the air the whole time. He continued mumbling to himself the whole time. "Bloody Turner. Oh I know everything I captained the Dutchman once. I'm a lovesick puppy. Let's make a baby Turner so he can be annoying as well. Oh baby's a lovesick puppy too least he's..." He was out of earshot before I could hear anymore.

~0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0~

Not long after that Carina had returned the rowboat to our ship and Marty, Scrum, Will, Henry and I helped pull her and the boat up with the missionary man as well.

The missionary man wore his brown hair in a messy ponytail with a few loose strands dangling out of place. He had bangs that reached to just above his eyebrows that seemed to just be going in whatever direction they felt. He had a thin mustache and a bit of facial hair on his chin, not as much as Will had and it seemed a lot thinner. He had brown sideburns as well.

"What's your name?" I asked the man as Henry helped Carina on to the ship and off the dingy.

"Philip," he answered. The entire time he seemed to be gazing far away.

"Why are you looking for mermaids?" Henry asked, turning from Carina to face Philip as Philip pulled himself out from the rowboat and stepped foot onto the Pearl.

"How did you know?" he asked, his endless gaze finally ending as he made eye contact with Henry.

Henry shrugged, frowning. "I figured there's no other reason for a man to be alone singing at sea?" he said as though he were asking a question. I supposed he didn't want to acknowledge that he knew Captain Jack Sparrow quite yet. There was no telling whether Philip's previous encounter with Jack had been a good one.

"Her name's Syrena," Philip answered, smiling as he looked out towards the sea again. "She's the love of my life. Without her life has no purpose."

I smiled. I knew exactly how he felt.

"We were together," he went on, "The kiss of a mermaid is cursed..."

I noticed Henry, Will and Carina as well as myself all tense up at that comment.

Philip didn't seem to notice. "Once a mermaid kisses you, you can live under water. We were together there. Years must have passed. It was wonderful. Then suddenly, it was as though the curse stopped. I could no longer breath under water. I almost drowned.

Syrena tried to kiss me again, but it did nothing. She got me to the surface just in time. She went to find what caused this, but she hasn't come back. I've tried singing every night to find her. Mermaids are suppose to hear the songs of sailors and come to them, generally not to do good, but Syrena is different. She would never harm me. It's almost as though she can't hear my singing though; as though that curse isn't working either."

My stomach felt uneasy hearing that. I'd never thought that ending my husband's curse and thus securing my happy-ever-after could end others happiness. What other pain had my son caused when he'd broken that trident?

"Captain gives orders on the ship!" Jack yelled, walking towards us again. It was as if he'd come out of nowhere.

I rolled my eyes. Could he not just go away?

"Now we're going to find my old best mate Barbossa," Jack explained, looking at Philip, "You can or you cannot come with us, but there'll be no mermaids or mermaid hunts welcome aboard me ship, savvy?"

"But Carina," Philip protested, "She said she could help me find Syrena."

Jack looked taken aback for a moment. "She did?"

Philip nodded.

"Oh. Well, she lied."

"Then I want to go back to my rowboat," Philip argued, "I need to find Syrena, she's bound to hear my song eventually."

"Wouldn't count on that," Jack said, shaking his head, "Curses aren't working the way they use to, mate. Mermaids can't hear singing. Silkies can't shed their skin. Captains of the Dutchman aren't captaining anymore. Ghost pirates aren't ghost. Just goes on and on, really."

"Why?" Philip asked, his eyes narrowing as his brow furrowed. "What caused all this?"

Jack shrugged. We all knew the answer to that though, all of us except Philip. Breaking the trident caused all this. Could I really justify my happy ending if it meant taking someone else's from them?

"Probably should go back to the dingy," Jack suggested, "Though depending on what type of "love" you're looking for I've got a horologist here!"

"Jack!" Carina gasped.

Philip moved his head back slightly while his neck and the rest of his body stayed in place."You have someone who studies time?" he questioned, almost as though he hoped that was what Jack meant by _horologist._

"Finally someone who knows what it means," Carina said, relieved.

"Oh is that what that means?" Jack said, pretending to be surprised, "Well turns out she's taken by the eunch spawn here anyway. Wouldn't really get involved with those two if I were you, aye?"

Philip tilted his head in response. "What?"

Henry stepped forward. "I'm the eunch spawn... I think," he said, reaching his one hand out to shake Philip's while the other scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Name's Henry Turner and I think I can help you find Syrena."

That came as a surprise to me.

"You can?" Philip asked, a huge smile breaking across his face.

"Yupp!" Jack said, jumping in front of them, "After we find my best mate Barbossa we'll be

heading to find the son of Poseidon. Probably can help with your curse dilemma, maybe not though, depends how much you trust witches, though I've never known one to be wrong before..."

"Jack?" I asked. This was all news to me.

"Aye," Jack continued, "Then assuming everyone does as we wish the son of Poseidon, what's his name again, Henry?"

"Trident," Henry answered, starring at the ground in front of him.

I wondered what was happening and why Henry understood. What had Jack mumbled about witches? Did this have something to do with whatever Henry learned at the witch's in Saint Martin?

"Right," Jack exclaimed, "Trident. So we go to Trident and if he's willing he'll fix all that's wrong or tell us how to fix all that's wrong, probably that one. Then we sort of re-make all the curses. Including the curse that keeps your lovely little mermaid able to hear you singing, savvy?"

Philip frowned. "That's why Syrena isn't coming," he said, slowly, "She can't find me. She can't hear me singing."

Henry stepped beside Jack, facing Philip once more. "We'll fix this though," he assured, "We will. You won't be without your love forever." He looked towards Will and I making eye contact with us. "No one should be without their love forever."

* * *

A/N:

I know this is way overdue. I'm soo sorry guys. :( Real life has been so crazy this past week ... I tried to make this a longer one to make up for my lack of updates this past little while. I'm sorry, guys. Thanks for hanging in there and reading though!

And now to non-registered reviewers:

HenryXcarina - Im glad you liked Jack. I hope you appreciated him in this chapter as well. :) Thanks so much for your kind words and review :)

ButtKraken - It's funny you mentioned "my first and only love is the sea" cause I was totally thinking of that while writing that chapter. Really glad you liked everyone in the last chapter! Thanks for reviewing ! :)

Smithy - thanks for reviewing. I contemplate doing Henry/Carina POV but a part of me also really wants to keep this whole story in the Willabeth perspective cause I think it adds an interesting parental aspect . Thanks for reviewing again :D

Guest - sorry it took so long :( I really do apologize. Thanks for reviewing though.

She-elf - thanks for your review. It was so nice. I'm so glad you're loving this story and certain I write characters etc. :D Thanks for reviewing


	11. A Family Conversation

A/N:

 _I am well aware that a few of my quotes are a tiny bit off when my characters are retelling stories of their past. I am trying to account for the fact that it's been 20+ years since these events originally took place. Thanks._

* * *

Chapter 11: A Family Conversation

 **Will's POV**

Before that moment it hadn't occurred to me that the end of my suffering could mean the beginning of someone else's. Me being with Elizabeth and Henry meant I had caused the man who stood in front on me (Philip) and his love (Syrena) to be apart. The world wasn't fair.

Henry seemed very determined that he would find a way for both Elizabeth and I as well as Philip and Syrena to be together. He always was optimistic. His optimism had let him save me before, but I wasn't sure if it would work a second time.

I wondered if it came down to Elizabeth and I being together at Philip and Syrena's expense if I could justify that. I didn't want to think about that. I couldn't. I couldn't leave Henry and Elizabeth again, but I also couldn't be truly happy if I knew my own happiness had caused others pain. I could only hope that Henry's determination to find a way for everyone to be happy would somehow work itself out.

Jack had told Philip to help himself to any unoccupied hammock below deck. He'd made some ridiculous comment about how the only two rooms under deck had already been taken by the "lovesick birds" as he called us. Elizabeth of course was offended by that and made some comment back at Jack, but I wasn't honestly paying attention to much of anything that happened then. The guilt knowing of the pain I had caused Philip was too much and all I could think about was what I would do if the choice became my own happiness or his happiness.

I stopped myself though. I couldn't keep thinking like that. There might indeed be a way for everyone to be happy. Until I had proof stating otherwise, I needed to believe him.

My mind also wondered as I realized I really needed to talk to my son alone after some of the things both him and Jack had mentioned to Philip earlier. Here my son was causing Elizabeth such grief over keeping a secret from him, yet he was also keeping a great secret from her. As far as I was aware, Elizabeth still knew nothing about how after finding Barbossa we would need to be finding Triton, Poseidon's son. She probably also still didn't know what the necklace Henry wore really represented either. It seemed like such a double standard to keep so much from his mother, yet hold it against her that she had once done the same.

I had decided it would be better if Henry told Elizabeth everything than if she heard it second hand from me. Now it was time he at least let her in on part of the details, especially now that Jack seemingly knew something about exactly what our adventure would entail. Jack was never one to keep secrets and I hoped Henry knew that. It would be much better for Elizabeth to find out everything from Henry than from Jack, that much was for certain.

"If you're so worried about him," Elizabeth threatened Jack, snapping myself back into the present, "Why don't you give Philip the Captain's corridors?"

"Really, the…," Philip began before Jack cut him off.

" _Captain_ 's corridors," Jack spat, " _Captain!"_

"I don't mind…," Philip tried again.

Elizabeth clenched her teeth together as she continued, "You know very well that…"

"Stop!" Henry yelled, cutting her off, "You two are literally fighting about absolutely nothing right now! Philip doesn't even care if he's given a hammock or bed and if you'd listen to him you would both know that, but instead you're too busy screaming at each other. Now, let's stop this nonsense and all go to bed."

"Anxious to get to bed are we," Jack grinned at Henry, "Just remember the walls are thin, mate."

"Jack!" Elizabeth gasped.

Henry looked rather uncomfortable as Jack patted him on the shoulder. "Boy's got needs," Jack shrugged.

Elizabeth gasped again.

"What? I don't…," Henry stammered before Carina cut him off.

"Let me assure you," Carina said in a rather serious tone, "That as a proper, educated woman I would not let a man share a bed with me before wedding him."

I noticed Elizabeth smile at that comment and wondered if she knew how much like her father she really was indeed. I took her smile to be a very good thing though. What Carina had just said had probably greatly impressed Elizabeth.

Jack grinned and I noticed him look directly at Elizabeth before speaking again. It was starting to appear, in my opinion, like this was all just a game to him to see how angry he could make her.

"Well you're in luck then," Jack grinned, facing Carina once more, "As Captain I can officiate a wedding!"

I noticed Elizabeth clenching her teeth again and figured she was getting close to loosing it towards Jack again. Meanwhile Henry stood nearby blushing, awkwardly fiddling with his vest once more. Carina was blushing as well and seem rather entranced with the ground.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Carina did so before I got the chance.

"I don't think we've known each other long enough for a wedding," she said, still starring down the floor, and fiddling with her hair between her fingers. "But thank you for your offer. Now if you don't mind, I think I'll be heading to bed."

Jack shrugged. "You're all boring," he mumbled then headed away from us.

"I shall be off to bed as well," Philip admitted. He then began to head below deck.

Carina finally looked up from the floor she had previously been so interested in and looked towards Henry. Her eyes shone in the moonlight as she smiled at him.

"I can't believe you introduced yourself to Philip as Eunch Spawn," she laughed once Philp was below deck.

Henry looked up at her, smiling as well. "I don't know why I did that," he admitted, laughing a little.

"Can you believe Jack though?" Carina asked, gently moving closer to Henry, "Talking about marriage and everything like that?"

Henry shrugged. "I'm fairly certain he just wants to see my mother's reaction to everything and enjoys making her mad," he replied, glancing over at Elizabeth before his eyes returned to meet Carina's again. It seemed my son was just as observant as I was regarding Jack.

Carina giggled a little as she looked towards Elizabeth as well. "Well I can't blame your mother completely for being angered about the thought of us marrying, after all I am a horologist."

Henry grinned as did Elizabeth and I. I was really beginning to like Carina. I liked how instead of fusing anger towards Jack she would use his own joke about herself when he wasn't around. Sometimes I wished Elizabeth would do the same.

I watched Elizabeth grin. It seemed as though Carina was drawing on her too.

"Luckily," Henry smiled, "My mother happens to be more educated than your typical pirate and may actually stand a chance of knowing what horologist means."

Carina's smile grew. "Luckily," she repeated blushing as her eyes seemed to get lost in my son's.

Elizabeth calmly interrupted the two of them, "I never said I was against you marrying. I was against you sharing a bed before you wed."

Carina nodded and turned to look at Elizabeth. "That won't be happening."

Henry nodded as well. "I would never do anything to defile Carina's honor like that," he stated, starring at Carina the whole time.

Carina continued smiling and walked closer to Henry. "Goodnight, Eunch Spawn," she teased as she hugged him. She gently rested her head upon his chest as Henry returned her hug.

"Goodnight, horologist," he grinned.

Carina rolled her eyes as she pulled her head away from his chest."At least horologist sounds better than Eunch Spawn," she mumbled as she left his embrace to head under the deck.

Henry watched in a helpless trance as she headed under deck. "One day," he said once she was out of earshot, "I am going to marry her."

"Not yet," Elizabeth warned. When he turned to look at her she gave him a motherly grin in response, one that clearly showed she harbored no hard feelings towards the idea of him marrying, but simply didn't want him to rush it. Henry silently gave a quick nod as though to say he understood.

"First, I need to free myself of this cursed necklace," he said, pulling it from where it was hidden beneath his shirt.

"Does she know about it yet?" I asked. I hoped his answer would be yes. I knew from experience what secrets in a relationship could mean.

Henry shook his head. "I'm worried it'll change how she feels about me."

"I don't think it would."

"But how would you feel if when you had just started courting mother she came out with this big story about a necklace that was tied to you?" he asked as his hands clenched into fists. He sighed and released them, calming himself. "That would be overwhelming wouldn't it?"

I knew the answer almost before he'd finished asking it. "I don't think overwhelming would be the word I'd use, son," I answered, "I do think that saving her from the curse would become one of my main priorities, but I also think knowing the full details of the curse of the necklace would also reassure me of her love for me and end any insecurities I may have had about it."

Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows. "Why do I get the feeling there's something about this necklace I don't know that you both do?"

Henry swallowed. He looked from his mother to me. I nodded, trying to silently encourage him to tell her. His gaze returned to his mother.

"Henry?" Elizabeth asked in a very parental tone. She was starring him down now, her eyes pressing for information.

Henry bit his tongue as his breaths grew a bit deeper. "I'm tempted to lie to you," he admitted, "After everything you kept from me about Jack."

Elizabeth's eyes softened and a frown crossed her face.

"But I'm not going to do that," Henry said, still breathing a little heavily, "No good comes from that."

"Henry, I'm sorry," Elizabeth cried once again, "I only did what I did..."

"To protect me," Henry said, finishing her sentence, "I know." He sighed as he looked toward the ground. His breathing slowly started to return to it's normal pace. "The more I hear about your past with Jack," he admitted, making eye contact with his mother again, "The more I begin to understand why you did what you did."

Elizabeth nodded, her eyes slightly beginning to water as she blinked back tears.

"While I think you're wrong in doing so, mother, I know that you blamed Jack for everything bad that happened to you and father. I know how hard it must have been for you to hear me talking about him and planning to find him while you still thought he was responsible for father's death. And I know that I wasn't there that day when father did die and maybe if I had of been there I would be able to take your side in this argument and hold Jack accountable for father's death as well.

But I wasn't there, and when I hear both sides of the story, mother I think you're wrong. And maybe this time we will just have to accept our differences in opinion. I love you, mother. I always will. You will always be the first woman in my life who I really cared for."

Elizabeth smiled as she seemed to struggle even harder to blink back tears. It seemed though that these were now happy tears, not sad ones anymore.

"But now, there's another woman in my life, mother," Henry continued, sighing, "One whom this necklace directly relates to."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't understand. You're wearing the necklace to keep you alive. It's cursed because if it's pulled off you, your blood will be owed to the witch in St. Martin. What does that have to do with Carina?"

Henry frowned. "I may have kept a bit of the truth from you as well, mother," he sighed, "The necklace doesn't just keep me alive. It's not that simple, nothing ever is. In order for the necklace to keep me alive I must pay homage to the one who I wear it on behalf of.

I was only cursed by the witch because I pushed Carina out of the way, assuring that she did not get cursed, yet cursing myself in the process. Now, as long as I wear this necklace my blood will not be due to the witch, I told you that already, wearing it protect me from her curse. The thing I didn't tell you or Carina though is that even if I keep the necklace on, if I do anything to harm Carina—mentally, physically, emotionally, whatever it may be—the necklace will instantly fall off and I die. I have to remain true to her as long as the necklace is on."

Elizabeth nodded. She bit her lip as she did so, her forehead wrinkling as she contemplated everything she'd just heard. Sighing she spoke again."Is there anything else you've been keeping from me?" she asked.

Henry gulped. He made eye contact with the deck again, but said nothing. His refusal to make eye contact with her said everything Elizabeth needed to know.

Elizabeth sighed heavily once more. "I know you're mad about Jack," she admitted. "And I'm sorry, I really am. But how are more secrets going to make things better?"

Henry slowly looked up and made eye contact with her. "I think… I think this mission to defeat Davy Jones and set all the curses right again is going to be a lot more dangerous than I originally let on," he explained.

Elizabeth nodded, biting her lip once more.

"After we find Barbossa he can teach us how to defeat Jones, but we'll also need to find Triton, Poseidon's son," Henry continued, "That is not going to be an easy path."

Elizabeth shook her head. "How do you know this?" she blinked.

"Shansa told me."

Elizabeth nodded. "And Will you knew all this already?"

I nodded. I hoped she wouldn't be angry with me for keeping so much from her. I just really wanted it to be my son who told her not me. "Henry told me," I admitted.

Elizabeth frowned as she looked upwards. She then lowered her head to make eye contact with the two of us again and sighed. "I love you two, both of you, but… I think as a family it's time we start being more honest and open with each other."

Henry and I both nodded.

'Can that please go for you too, mother?" Henry begged, "I'm not a young boy anymore."

Elizabeth nodded. "No," she replied with a hint of sorrow in her voice, "You aren't."

"I think," I began, "There are things that parents don't need their sons to know just as there are things that sons don't necessarily need their parents to know. It's not that we have to tell each other everything, but we definitely do need to be more careful when it comes to what we keep secret and what we don't."

Elizabeth and Henry both nodded as the three of us joined together in a big group hug. I hoped this meant the fight between my wife and son was over though I suspected there was still some resentment towards Elizabeth from Henry. I hoped it was at least cooling down as the two of the stood there in my arms, the three of us embracing each other. I loved the two of them more than I could have even began to describe. I was happy to see us all smiling together even if the moment may have ended up being short lived. Time for smiling was always limited aboard a pirate ship.

"Now that I know that you knew Jack before," Henry asked excitedly, breaking the silence between the three of us as he pulled back from our hug, "Can you tell me more about the stories of the Aztec gold you mentioned earlier today when you were arguing about how Jack always wanted to be immortal?"

Elizabeth laughed rolling her eyes. "That's a story for tommrow I think. It's getting rather late."

"And more about the kraken?"

"Tomorrow," Elizabeth said, sing-song like as she began heading towards the stairway leading under the deck. Henry followed directly behind her and I followed behind him.

"And about what really happened when dad was killed?" he asked, still excited.

Elizabeth stopped walking. Her smile was replaced with a frown. She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again.

"Or…," Henry stammered, realizing the pain it caused his mother, "Perhaps not that one?"

"No," Elizabeth protested, "While a hard story to tell, you should know what really happened that day." She sighed and paused for a moment."Jack really did save your father's life," she finally admitted.

I had honestly begun to feel like I would never hear those words leave her mouth. Her hatred against Jack was so strong it seemed as though she really had forgotten all the good he had done. I was proud of her though. She was finally wiling to admit what we'd both known all along.

Henry frowned, but looked at his mother eagerly, waiting for her to continue.

"Let's find a place to sit," Elizabeth suggested and continued walking down the stairs leading below deck. She headed straight to the room her and I had been sharing, Henry and I both following behind her.

The room was rather dark as the only light inside was the bit of moonlight shining in from the porthole. Elizabeth sat down on the bed and reached for a flint box and candle on the small table beside it. The bed and the table were all that fit into the small room. She lit the candle and although it didn't add much light, it did help us see each other a little better.

Henry sat down on the bed beside his mother and I sat down across from the two of them, the three of us almost forming a small triangle.

Elizabeth sighed. I knew this was hard for her to talk about. I knew she'd had nightmares of the very day many, many times before. I also knew though that she was right—our son did need to know this aspect of his parent's past.

"I told you about Jones," Elizabeth began, "And his fight against the Pearl."

"Yes," Henry nodded, "Jones was teamed up with the East Indian Trading Company. You and father were on the opposing side, fighting with a bunch of pirates. Jones was only with the company because they had his heart and if they stabbed his heart he would instantly die."

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, and your father and I were fighting mostly against Jones and his men while the other pirate ships took on the East Indian Trading Company ships."

"But where was Jack when all this was happening?"

"Originally aboard the Pearl," I explained, answering for Elizabeth, "While I was stuck aboard one of the East Indian Trading Company ships, but your mother negotiated a trade; Jack for myself."

Henry tilted his head. "Why were you aboard a Trading Company ship?"

"I was trying to negotiate a way to save my father. He was part of Jones' crew, stuck there for eternity unless I intervened."

Henry sat emotionless for a moment. "I didn't know that."

"That wasn't me keeping secrets for you," Elizabeth said, defending herself, "It just didn't really seem to matter in the long run."

Henry slowly nodded.

I sighed. "Beckett, do you know who he is?"

"No," Henry, said shaking his head.

"He was what you could call the main leader of the East Indian Company, I suppose. He died in battle that day when I got control of the Dutchman and the Pearl and my ship attacked his with cannons on either side… Anyway, that'll come later.. Beckett was pure evil. He wanted control of the sea without having to face any consequences or payment. He was the one who had control of Jones' heart and he ordered Jones to attack us."

I stopped for a breath and Elizabeth continued. "The problem with fighting Jones and his men was they couldn't actually be killed, being immortal and all. We could slow them down, we could push them out of the way, but we could not actually kill any of them. It was a difficult battle to say the least."

"Yes," I said, cutting in, "And right in the middle of it your mother and I decided to get married."

I smiled. It sounded so silly to say now. Who gets married in the middle of a huge battle anyway? I would never regret it though.

Elizabeth smiled as well. "Right in the middle of this huge battle," she explained, "Your father turns to me and yells, 'Elizabeth, marry me!'"

Henry laughed. "I know, you told me about your wedding. A massive battle with pirates all around, cursed fish-like pirates fighting, barely any witnesses paying attention and some drunken pirate captain officiating. I just didn't know until recently that that pirate captain was Barbossa."

"You also didn't know Barbossa until recently," Elizabeth reminded him.

Henry nodded, smiling. "Nor his daughter," he added.

After a brief pause Elizabeth continued, the smile leaving her face, "Anyway, once we were wed we continued on with the battle. It wasn't long after that that Jones came after me."

"Where were you, father?" Henry asked, "When Jones was attacking mother?"

"I was fighting my own father," I admitted, "Who was so cursed to Jones' ship that he didn't even recognize me."

Henry shook his head in disbelief. "He didn't recognize his own son?"

I slowly nodded. "Some curses can do that."

Henry mouth twisted as he contemplated that. "Then what about Jack?" he asked, "How exactly did he save you, father? When did he get Jones' heart?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "It must have been while I was busy fighting my father and Elizabeth was fighting Jones."

Henry nodded. "What happened next?" he asked with enthusiasm.

Elizabeth laughed a little at his excitement. "I quickly learned I was no match for Jones," she answered, sadly, "And I fell to the ground during our fight."

"I heard your mother gasping," I said, cutting in again, "And looked over to see Jones about to attack her. My heart never beat as fast as it did in that moment. I was worried I was going to loose her.

I used the knife my father had given me to attach him to the ship. I didn't have time to fight him. I wasn't going to kill him and there was real danger nearby and battles to be fought.

I watched Jones near your mother and just as he lifted his sword to stab it through her heart I stabbed my own sword into his back to where his heart would have been had it been in his chest. I thought I had perhaps really accomplished something, but quickly realized my mistake.

Jones turned to me, asking 'Did you forget I'm a heartless wench?' He then bent the edge of my sword so that I couldn't pull it out of him. I tried with all the force I could muster, but nothing happened. It was stuck. I knew I was in trouble."

I watched Henry listen intently. Every now and then his eyes would widen a bit as he listened to our tale. I also noticed him clench his jaw occasionally. I figured he was probably both a little scared and angry about hearing what his parents had to endure.

"Mother never told me that part," Henry admitted.

I nodded. "She was blacked out at the time. When she fell while fighting Jones there were a few moments she missed from the fall," I explained.

"So did he kill you right then and there?" Henry asked, concern in his voice, "With your sword in him, bent so it couldn't release?"

"Not quite," I replied, "Jones used one of his tentacles to knock me to the ground. He was a cursed man, much worse than I ever was since he never did any part of his duty. There were tentacles all throughout his body.

When I was on the ground your mother came to. We both looked at each other, both fearing this was the end, our last moments together. Jones mocked us for doing so, calling love 'a dreadful bond, one that is so easily severed.' He turned to face me again and asked if I feared death. I knew from my experience with him before that was what he asked before he'd kill men. If they said yes they joined his crew. If they said no, he ended their lives.

Just when everything seemed hopeless, Jack cut in. 'Do you?' he'd said in response to Davy Jones' question about fearing death.

Captain Jack Sparrow held up Jones' heart. I don't know when he'd got it. I don't know how he'd got it, but he had it. I was relived. That meant everything was going to be alright. I looked at your mother certain we were going to be alright after all."

As I told Henry about looking up at his mother in the story, I also looked up at her in real life. I noticed her crying a little. Talking about my death really did hurt her. I slid over on the bed next to her and coddled her into my arms. Her head rested against my shoulder as I continued.

"Jones looked at Jack and called him a cruel man," I continued, "Jack replied saying something, although to be completely honest I don't remember what anymore. It was a long time ago. Jones in return said how cruel is a matter of perspective and turned suddenly stabbed his sword right through my heart."

Elizabeth gasped, letting out a loud sob. I tightened my hold on her slightly. She wasn't alone anymore and I wanted to be sure she knew that.

I wasn't even sure I had quoted Jack and Jones entirely correctly anymore. That moment had happened so fast and was so horrible, the little details didn't seem to matter.

Henry sat there with his mouth open and eyes widened, taking in what he'd been told.

"I felt the sword running through my heart and gasped in pain," I went on, "As if that wasn't bad enough he twisted it once it was in there just to make the pain worse. Everything slowly turned black. Every breathe took a tremendous effort. I felt your mothers hands on me, I knew they were hers from their touch, but I could barely see. She was yelling something, but I was in too much pain to figure out what. Eventually the pain vanished and that's when I knew I was done for. It was over. I still felt your mother there, but I couldn't hold on anymore, not even for her."

Elizabeth continued crying against my shoulder silently now and I began to gently rub her back, trying to calm her down. Henry shook his head, his mouth still gaping open.

"How could someone do that?" he asked. His mouth closed and a frown ran across his face. He shook his head and it seemed as though he was almost blinking back tears as well.

"While I was blacked out," I carried on, "Jack took Jones' heart and brought it to my side. He helped me stab the heart. I had little to no idea what was going on, but Jack's sword went through my hand and stab the heart thus saving my life in the process and destroying Jack's last chance at immortality."

Henry continued frowning as he sat there for a moment starring straight ahead at nothing particular. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

"So," Henry began, "Jack really did save your life."

I nodded. "Jack had plenty of time while I was dying to stab Jones' heart and he didn't. He didn't have to bring it to me to stab instead, but he did. I'm alive now because of Jack. Otherwise I would have just been another soul lost at sea waiting to be ferried to the locker."

Henry nodded. Elizabeth sighed and lifted her head. "I really did blame Jack for no reason," she admitted, seemingly more to herself than either of us.

I nodded and using both my arms this time gently pulled her into my chest in a hug. Even when she was downright wrong I would still be there for her. She had been through a lot. Retelling the story of my death was a testimony to that and that testimony didn't even get into the years she spent alone, raising a son by herself and all the while missing her husband. Elizabeth was a fighter, but every fighter makes mistakes once in awhile.

"I'd never heard," Henry admitted, "The story of your death in that much detail before, even without the part about Jack."

I could understand why. I didn't per say like to talk about my death, but I could handle doing so. I was beginning to think Elizabeth, on the other hand, couldn't.

I looked up at my son over his crying mother.

"I'm glad Jack saved you though," Henry continued, "Even if it meant you only got to see us twice during the first few years of my life, it was something, and you're here now."

I nodded again. My thoughts returned to what I had pondered earlier that night. Sure I was here now, but what about later? What if we learned that I could not be with my family while Philip was also with Syrena? Could I be there for them then?

"I'm going to find a way to keep you free," Henry said, almost as though he knew my very thoughts, "We'll right all the curses that we broke with the trident when we find Triton, but we will also find a way to keep you together with us, father. We have to."

I nodded. I liked his determination. I liked his hope. It made me almost believe what he wanted was indeed possible. It reminded me of a much younger version of him who came aboard my ship to first tell me he'd found a way to free me, going on about the trident of Poseidon and having to find Captain Jack Sparrow. I had doubted that young boy could have freed me then, but he had found a way. Maybe it was time I trust him and shared in the hope he possessed. Maybe there really was a way for everyone to live happily-ever-after.

"I love you, father," Henry said, hugging my side in order to not crush his mother who was still leaning against me. I took my one arm away from Elizabeth, while still holding her with the other, to wrap it around my son.

"I love you too, son," I grinned.

"You too, mother," he said as he leaned away from me to face his mother, affectionately putting his one hand on her thigh as he couldn't hug her since she was too far leaned into me and wrapped in my arms.

Elizabeth broke free of my embrace and leaned forward to hug our son. "I love you too, Henry," she cried, softly, "And I'm so sorry for ever keeping everything about Jack a secret from you."

Henry didn't say anything, but returned her hug anyway. I think that alone spoke words for if he was truly still as angry as he had been before he wouldn't have done that.

Henry backed up from his mother's embrace. "I really do have to be getting to bed though," he admitted.

Elizabeth nodded. "Goodnight, Henry," she said.

"Goodnight son," I too replied.

He bid us both goodnight as well. Once he was gone I turned to Elizabeth. "You did a wonderful job of raising him for him to have turned out like that," I whispered, gently kissing her forehead.

Elizabeth smiled. "He only turned out as great as he did," she replied, flirtatiously, "Because there's so much of his father in him."

I laughed. "There's a whole lot of his mother in him as well."

Elizabeth smiled her tears drying as she softly leaned against my shoulder again. I knew then that we needed to stay together. Henry was right we would have to find a way for everyone to be with the one they loved—both Elizabeth, Henry and I as well as Philip and Syrena. As my son had said previously, 'No one should be without their love.'

I smiled to myself thinking about how lucky I was to have a son like Henry, but I soon forgot all about that Elizabeth lifted her head from my shoulder to passionately kiss me and I soon embraced the company of my wife in a way that only a married man truly can.

* * *

A/N:

Yay another chapter! I had fun writing this one so I hoped you all liked it! I have to say I was so surprised to see everyone last chapter being so nice about how long it took me to update and telling me not to worry about it. You are all so kind! :D

And to my non-registered reviewers:

She-elf : haha Barbossa will show up in time. I'm glad you liked Jack last chapter as well as Will and Elizabeth etc. Thanks for reviewing again!

Smithy: Thanks for understanding. I am contemplating doing a couple one-shots though with them maybe at a later date. Thanks for reviewing again!

ButtKraken: Thank you! Glad you're still loving everything. Thanks for reviewing!

HenryXCarina: lol your review made me laugh cause I can just envision someone fangirling over this fic. Lol I'm glad you like it so much though! Thanks for your review!


	12. He's Still A Pirate

Chapter 12: He's Still a Pirate

 **Elizabeth's POV:**

I couldn't sleep that night. I laid on my back in bed contemplating everything that had just transpired, starring at the ceiling. Will was completely passed out beside me; laying on his stomach, his head snuggled into the pillow, facing away from me. I had tired him out rather successfully. After spending the first twenty-two years of our marriage mostly apart our passion for each other was heated and intense. We were perhaps more similar to newlyweds than we were to other couples who had been married for the same length of time as we had. That sort of passion was enough to tire someone out the way it had Will.

Something else was keeping me up though. The thing I found overwhelming what was had transpired before we'd headed to bed.

I was so impressed that Will had been able to talk to Henry the way he did. He had verbally relived through every moment of his death and had done so with such tremendous courage. I had tried to join in, but the story had barely progressed before I had found myself unable to handle it. I could barely relive those moments. Will had been able to tell Henry everything and it was good that he finally had a chance to learn the full truth. I had no idea how Will was able to speak of such things though. I couldn't even listen without crying. Even then, I only survived listening because Will was there for me to lean on and hold me.

Lying in bed, eyeing the ceiling, I thought over something else Henry had said. " _While I think you're wrong in doing so, mother, I know that you blamed Jack for everything bad that happened to you and father."_

After hearing the story of Will's death from Will's perspective, as well as allowing myself to picture it again and relive it with Will there beside me, I realized how right Henry had been. I had blamed Jack for everything bad that had happened and really he wasn't responsible at all. Okay well, maybe not _at all_. He wasn't exactly a completely innocent man. He was a pirate, and that meant he was selfish… yet he also had proved that when it mattered the most he did care about others, didn't he? He had after all given up his only chance at immortality for Will. That was not very pirate-like at all.

I sat up in bed, sighing. I couldn't handle just lying there when I couldn't sleep. I needed to do something, anything, and as odd as it seemed a part of me really wanted to talk to Jack.

I got up, put on my nightdress as well as a robe over top, covering everything, and quietly snuck out of the room, leaving Will behind as he slept. I quietly closed the door behind me, so as not to wake Will and headed above deck. Once there I slowly walked over to the helm, figuring that was exactly where I would find Jack.

"Well," Jack said as I neared his spot behind the wheel, "If it isn't Elizabeth!"

I noticed he was finally calling me Elizabeth instead of "Lizzie" as he'd been referring to me earlier and wondered if he expected me to acknowledge it. I felt myself grin inadvertently, but quickly stopped myself as soon as I realized it. Even if I had been in the wrong in how hard I had been on him up until then, grinning at him for using my proper name would only add to the satisfaction he'd get over knowing how much it annoyed me when he did call me Lizzie.

"Jack," I greeted in response, nodding as I neared him still. I stopped when we were at a simple speaking distance where neither of us would have to raise our voice to be heard.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure?" Jack asked as he grinned, "Couldn't stand to spend a night without me now could you?"

I grimaced. "Hardly."

I knew if I didn't say what I'd come above deck to say soon I would get distracted by Jack's pointless banter and never say it at all.

I sighed. "Jack," I quietly admitted, "I'm here to apologize."

"For being uncontrollably attracted to me?" he joked.

I cringed at the thought, but didn't acknowledge him. "For blaming you for everything terrible that happened to us."

Jack nodded, the silly grin on his face replaced with a frown.

"You saved Will's life," I admitted, sitting down on the railing by the helm as I spoke, being sure to hold my robe closed of course. It wasn't as though it truly mattered. When I was younger I had spent hours with Jack in nothing by my under garments on a beach where we'd been mutinied by Barbossa and the crew of The Black Pearl years ago. My nightdress surely covered about the same amount of skin.

Those were different times though. I was a mother now. I wouldn't have been able to explain myself to Henry if he'd come up from below deck and seen me in nothing except my nightdress alone with Jack. I wasn't even sure if Will would be accepting of that. I had others to think about now than that day so many years ago on the beach.

Jack nodded in response. "Didn't deserve to die," he replied, regarding Will.

I bit my lip. "No," I agreed, "He didn't."

"But all that's behind us now," he grinned, "Eunch-Spawn fixed all that."

I shook my head, smiling. "If only the words "Eunch-Spawn" didn't completely contradict each other."

Jack shrugged. "If only a heartless man impregnating a woman didn't completely contradict each other."

I chuckled a little at his remark. "Will is many things, but heartless has never been one."

Jack squinted a little as he looked my way again, gesturing to his chest as he spoke. "You do realize Will's heart was quite literally not in his chest..."

I rolled my eyes in response. "I believe," I corrected, gazing upwards and smiling, "That there are two different meanings to the word _heart_ ; the literal heart, beating in one's chest, and the emotional heart that affects how we care for others."

Jack crinkled his face, shaking his head. "This is why I never spend more than one night with a woman."

I felt my eyes rolling again as I chuckled to myself a tiny bit. I smiled. "I'm going back below deck," I said, standing, still smiling as I began to walk away.

"Still haven't really apologized, luv," Jack mentioned.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to face him again. "What?"

Jack shrugged. "Said you came here to apologize. Never apologized."

I sighed and walked back closer towards him. "I'm sorry, Jack," I answered, "I really do mean that."

Jack nodded.

"And when or if," I continued, seriously, "Will and I do have another child, that child will know about you, Jack—the man who saved his father's life."

Jack nodded.

"But if it's a girl you stay far, far away from her," I said turning to leave.

Jack laughed. "Even I don't go that young."

"Good!" I exclaimed, and with that I headed back below deck to head to bed again. I was glad Jack and I were able to find a way to speak each other again without screaming at one other. I didn't necessarily agree with everything he said, but I could learn to let go of the things I didn't and accept that. He was after all still a pirate.

~-\\_/-~

The next day I slept in later than everyone else, which was to be expected since I had stayed up later. I went up above deck and found Jack, still awake from the night before, arguing with my husband and son. I wondered how he was already awake and whether he had even gone to bed yet.

"That isn't safe!" Henry yelled as I headed up deck.

"It worked once before," Jack argued, waving his finger in the air, "It will work again!"

"What's going on?" I asked, joining them.

"Jack wants to throw Carina overboard with rocks tied to her ankle," Henry answered, angrily.

"Jack?" I gasped, frowning, "Why?" Here I was at the night before thinking he was a good man and now he was planning to kill the girl my son loved.

"Simple," Jack answered, "Who's Captain of the Flying Dutchman?"

"Barbossa," Henry answered, immediately, shaking his head as he began pacing.

"And who is Barbossa's daughter?" Jack continued, waving his hand in a circle in front of him, clearly signally for us to continue.

"Carina," Henry answered again, still angry, turning to face Jack, "That still doesn't mean this is a good idea."

Jack pointed at him. "Hang on a minute while we catch mummy up to speed," he said, putting the tip of his finger in his mouth and smiling at me.

"What does it matter who Carina is or isn't?" I asked, "Why are we trying to kill her?"

"We're not," Henry corrected, "Jack is!"

"We're not going to kill her," Jack protested, moving his finger. "We're going to _almost_ kill her."

"And what if something goes wrong?" Will argued, stepping forward, "How do we even know your idea will work?"

"Exactly!" Henry agreed, tossing his hands in the air in frustration, "We don't know that this will work."

"Didn't seem to bother you when it was your life at stake," Jack shrugged.

"That's different!" Henry argued, pointing at himself, "That was _my_ life. This is Carina's."

I noticed Jack's crew coming to all join us and wondered what was going on as they all grew nearer and nearer, surrounding us.

"So what you're saying then, Henry," Jack said, scratching his chin, thoughtfully, "Is that Carina's life is worth more to you than your own and you would never on your own accord let me put her in danger, correct?"

Henry nodded. "Of course. Which is exactly why…"

Jack cut him off. "Which is exactly why, Gibbs you're right on time!" he grinned. Then pointing both his index fingers upwards while the rest of his hands both remained in fists he pointed them forwards yelling, "Go!"

Before I even knew what was happening the crowd of Jack's crew that was surrounding us reached in and grabbed us. They instantly divided into groups and one group grabbed myself, one group grabbed Henry, and one grabbed Will. The three of us all tried to fight them off, kicking, punching and screaming, but we didn't stand a chance against them. We were far too outnumbered and since they had the element of surprise on their side none of us had time to reach for our weapons.

"Jack Sparrow!" Will yelled, as pirates grabbed him, surrounding him.

" _Captain_ ," Jack corrected, cutting him off, "Captain Jack Sparrow!"

"We trusted you," Will continued, "And once again we've found you taking advantage of that trust."

"Shall we throw them in the brig?" Scrum asked.

"NO!" Jack yelled. "No, not the brig! That one can get out!" he yelled, pointing at Will.

"Then what are we to do with them?" Marty asked.

"Nothing!" Jack ordered, "Do nothing!"

"Nothing, Captain?" Gibbs asked, holding Henry as he eyed Jack. His head tilted and his forehead wrinkled. I noticed he was still refusing to loosen his grasp though. None of them were.

"Nothing," Jack nodded.

"So what are we gonna stand here holding them all day?" Marty asked, angrily, as he helped some other crew members hold me in place.

"No," Jack said, as though he was shocked Marty would even suggest such a thing. "Are the others getting Carina?"

"NO!" Henry yelled, kicking harder again in an attempt to free himself.

"Aye, Captain," Gibbs asked, strengthening his grip on my son, "Can we at least throw this one in the brig?"

"Jack?" I asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

"In due time, luv," he said smiling, looking me directly in the eyes. He then turned to face Gibbs and Henry again, his smile leaving, "Now, where's the girl?"

"Jack no!" Henry hollered, still trying to break free, "I won't let you hurt her!"

I strengthened my own kicking as well. I remembered what my son had told me the night before. I knew that even if Jack's stupid plan worked and Carina did survive, Henry may not and if she didn't survive Henry would surely die as well. If any harm came to Carina, his cursed necklace would fall off and he would die.

Suddenly, the remaining crew members came up from below deck carrying a screaming and kicking Carina.

"Unhand me you filthy pirates!" she hollered.

"Carina!" Henry yelled upon seeing her.

"Henry!" she yelled, smiling for a mere moment at his presence then frowning again as she remembered the reality of her current situation."What's happening?" she asked, worried.

"Might be better not knowing, luv," Jack said, tying a bag of rocks to her ankle as some of the crew still held her in place.

"Jack please!" Henry protested, "I beg you reconsider."

"Use me instead!" Will argued.

Jack frowned and turned to face Will "And why should Bootstrap care if you live or drown, mate?"

"Jack please," I begged.

"It's for the best, luv," he remarked calmly. Then he turned and looked towards Carina again. "Time to throw her overboard."

"NO!" Henry, Will and I yelled in unison. Before we could do anything it was too late. Carina was in the water.

Jack waited for a moment starring at the heavens then giving Carina enough time to sink with the rocks tied to her turned to the crew again. "Okay, you can let them go now," he said, shrugging.

The crew let go of us all and Henry, Will and I instantly ran to look over the edge of the ship.

Henry backed up a little and took off his coat. He then grabbed on to the railing at the edge of the ship and started to pull himself over it as though he was about to try and dive in the water.

"Henry, no!" Will yelled, putting his hand on his shoulder to stop him. "It's too late. With the rocks she's too far down by now. Bootstrap is our only hope."

Henry shook his head and pulled away from Will. "I have to try," he argued.

I shook my head. "Henry..." I cried.

Before I could say anything else a gigantic ship rose from below the water beside the Pearl. I could have recognized that ship anywhere. I had spent years waiting for that ship to appear within my view. It was the Flying Dutchman.

Barbossa stood near the helm of the Dutchman holding a dripping wet Carina who had a blanket covering her. "Now who's idea was it to throw my daughter overboard?" he asked.

I smiled. I'm sure Will did as well and Henry was probably smiling bigger than both of us if I had looked at him. I was too focused on what was right in front of me; a girl who's survival was directly tied to my son's and a ship whose captain could help set us on the course to rid us of Jones forever. Pirate or not, maybe Jack really did know what he was doing after all. It would taste a lie though to say I was fond of his means.

* * *

A/N:

Sorry it's a little short compared to some of our other chapters. I will try to maybe update the next chapter sooner than usual (if time permits) to make up for it.

Thanks for reading everyone! :) R&R

And to unregistered reviewers:

She-elf: glad you liked the last chapter. Team strengthening is really important and as you can see above, they really are trying. Jack's crazy one-liners are fun to write, but super hard to figure out also but i'm glad you're liking them. thanks for your review!

Smithy: i am actually really tempted to do something like that when time permits. It would be fun. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

NourSuga: so glad you are liking this story! Thanks for your kind review! Hope it continues to be as good as you have found it so far!

ButtKraken: you are so kind! I'm really glad you're loving the story still! Thanks so much for your kind words and review!

HenryXCarina: lol yay my first fangirl! ;) But seriously I am really glad this is still living up to expectations! :D Thanks for reviewing again!

RumIsGone: lol i am kind of tempted to have him officiate the wedding whenever they do get married. I dont know how Elizabeth and Will would feel about that though. Glad you're liking the story though. Thanks for reviewing!

Lelmeoen: I try to aim for every Sunday, but depending on timing and my real life schedule. it sometimes ends up being Monday or Tuesday. I do update at least weekly though sometimes even twice in a week if i can, but that is rare. Thanks for reviewing though. Kind of nice to know people are waiting :)


	13. Curses and Lies and Truths

Chapter 13: Curses and Lies and Truths

 **Will's POV:**

"Henry!" Elizabeth gasped, "You're alive!"

Carina looked towards her from the Dutchman, beside her father (Barbossa) with a puzzled look on her face. "Henry?" she questioned. Inadvertently she had answered one of my questions; Henry clearly still hadn't told her about the curse that tied them together in ways she probably hadn't even imagined. Not knowing that would indeed make it seem odd that Elizabeth was questioning Henry's safety when it was actually Carina who had been thrown into the sea with rocks tied to her ankle weighing her down.

"And why wouldn't he be?" Jack asked, grinning. "Henry here," he continued, walking towards my son in his drunken fashion and pointing at Henry as he did, "Never was in any danger since he was not able to condemn me from condemning Carina to her potential death. And since it was actually meself who condemned her to said fate while Henry was condemned to be held in place by me crew condemning himself, he never really had a say in the matter nor did he intentionally put himself in danger, savvy?"

I had no idea what he'd meant by that nor did I care to take the time to analyze it. It seemed as though everyone was beginning to grow impatient with him from the dirty he received from both my wife and son in response.

"What did he say?" Carina asked, unable to hear him from the other ship.

"It don't be mattering!" Barbossa yelled, "Anyone what be putting me daughter in danger don't be deserving to live himself!"

"No, no!" Jack protested, waving his finger in the air, "I did it for you, mate!"

"Ye expect me to believe ya threw my daughter overboard for me?!" Bootstrap yelled, "And just what would ya have done if I hadn't gotten here in time?"

Jack shrugged. "Would have had a nice funeral."

"Jack!" Henry yelled, "All this time I thought you were a friend and..."

"Have I not taught you anything, Henry?" Jack questioned, "A pirate is dishonest and a dishonest man is not a friend you honestly want to be having, honestly!"

A small part of me wanted to just punch him out cold. I wasn't sure if that was my fatherly instinct taking over seeing that he had hurt my son's trust and was now mumbling rubbish to him in response or if I was just fed up with everything Jack had been doing recently altogether.

"The point that you're all missing!" Jack yelled so as Bootstrap and Carina could hear as well, moving on almost as if he hadn't said anything beforehand."Is Carina dead? No! And why not? Because no father would knowingly let his daughter perish!"

"And what if I hadn't gotten 'ere in time?" Bootstrap asked again.

"You would have found a way!" Jack yelled back, "And you did! And like I said Henry can't be in any danger so long as he does right by Carina as much as he is capable of and did he try to save her? Yes. Could he? No, but because that wasn't his fault, his curse won't be holding that against him and he is indeed alive as well! Now is everybody over their hatred of me?"

"No," Elizabeth coldly replied before anyone else had a chance.

"Aww Lizzie," Jack groaned, "And here we were almost becoming mates again."

Elizabeth crinkled her nose. "And yet every time I think there may be hope for you, Captain Sparrow, you manage to prove me wrong."

It seemed as though time paused for a moment. I know I greatly agreed with what Elizabeth had just said and I imagined Henry was probably thinking something similar as well. For once it seemed as though Jack didn't have any witty remark to follow. He was a pirate and always would be. That meant that our trust was something of which he would never fully be worthy.

"Anyway!" Jack yelled, ending the silence, "Since everything did in fact work out and Carina is in fact alive and well and Henry, who was never really at risk of dying mind you, is also well and alive, it would appear that now would be a good time to go find the son of Poseidon! Although, perhaps first we should be doing away with a certain tentacled monstrous, human-ish fiend?"

"Jones be dead!" Barbossa argued.

Jack shook his head. "Your a horrible guardian of the locker, don't even know who's there and who's not!"

"I think I bloody well know who be dead or alive, Jack!"

"Do not!" Jack argued, playfully, "Else wise you'd know that Jones is still alive!"

"Just because he's not in the locker, don't mean he's not dead!"

"So where is he?"

"Dead!"

"Dead where?"

"Matters not!"

"Yes, it does!" Jack argued.

"No, it doesn't!" Barbossa yelled back.

"Yes, it does!"

"No, it doesn't!"

"Yes, it does!" Jack exclaimed, "Does times infinity!"

Barbossa rolled his eyes, "Just because you times infinity doesn't mean yer right!"

"Stop!" Elizabeth hollered, ending their useless argument. "This is preposterous! Davy Jones is out there coming after my family, and your daughter!" she added, looking at Barbossa, "And instead of doing something to stop him you two are going to sit here and argue about whether he's alive or dead? I don't really think any of us will be caring whether he's a ghost or a man when he runs his sword through us!

Captain Barbossa, we need your help! A witch named Shansa told us you would be able to help us defeat Davy Jones! We need to know what you know!"

Barbossa stood on the Dutchman pouting and looking towards the sky as he thought for a moment. Finally he spoke again. "Who's blood did ya give?" he asked.

"No one's!" Carina answered, "We found a way around it! She was gracious, spared Henry's blood by giving him a cursed necklace instead! As long as he wears it he can still be alive!" She raised an eyebrow, pausing for a moment. "Though it would seem, as Jack just let on, that there may be more to that curse than Henry made us aware!"

I had worried that something like this might have happened. The longer Henry had put off telling Carina all the secrets he'd kept about exactly how involved she was in his curse, the more likely it was she would find out by herself. It would have been so much easier if he'd just told her. Now he was going to have to face the consequences that comes with keeping secrets.

I knew too much about the pain that secrets could bring into a relationship. I remembered Elizabeth not telling me she'd killed Jack because it "wasn't my burden to bare." I remembered in return not telling her when I made arrangements to help Sao Feng's army follow the Pearl, betraying my own crew. Neither of those secrets ended up being beneficial to each other in the end. Secrets never seemed to be.

Barbossa scratched his chin. "Cursed necklace?" he pondered aloud.

"So do we have an accord?" Jack asked, smiling.

"An accord to what?" Barbossa spat.

Jack sighed and looked at Barbossa as though he was the dumbest pirate to have ever sailed the seas. "An accord that you'll help us defeat Jones?" he replied, shaking his head, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"And just what makes ya think I'd be doing anything fer you?" he said through clenched teeth, crinkling his nose.

"Forget about him!" Carina ordered, "Father, would you do this for me?" Her eyes met Barbossa's with a sort of innocent glimmer. She frowned and blinked slightly.

Barbossa stood silent for a moment watching her, frowning as the anger left his face. "Fine," he spat, "But fer risking my daugther's life, Jack, we be taking the Dutchman and leaving yer beloved Pearl behind."

It was times like this when it became obvious to someone like myself, an experienced previous Captain of the Dutchman, that Barbossa was still new to his job. "That will never work!" I hollered towards his, formerly my, ship. "Where the Dutchman heads we cannot follow! You have to do the duty! If you're called away you'll have to leave and come back! We need both ships!"

Elizabeth mouth gaped open as I spoke, her eyes widened. "What if Jones comes when he's gone? How are we to defeat him then?"

Jack shrugged. "Fight him."

Elizabeth sighed heavily. "Yes, because that worked so well the first time. Why not try for round two? Anyone know where Barbossa's heart is so Will can stab it when he dies again?"

She seemed a little more irritable than usual. I wasn't entirely sure why.

"All we'll have to do is find a way to hold him off," I said, trying to be reassuring, "We'll greatly outnumber him at least."

"We can't hear you when you don't yell!" Carina informed us from the other ship. That was probably a good thing. She didn't need to fear Jones. Also, I don't know that Barbossa would have appreciated Elizabeth's comment about stabbing his heart even if she probably hadn't meant it. I couldn't even be sure of that though, she could be pretty determined when it came to saving her family.

"The point is," I said, not wanting to wait for Jack to possibly repeat anything Elizabeth had just said in frustration, "We need both ships!"

"And I need to be punishing Jack!" Barbossa argued.

Carina smiled mischievously looking up at her father. "Luckily!" she yelled, her eyes moving between us and Barbossa, "I know a punishment that doesn't require giving up the Pearl."

Jack's eyes widened.

"Let's see how he likes the Pearl's brig and the current company within it!" she yelled, grinning.

Jack's eyes grew even larger. "That's barbaric!" he yelled in a high pitched voice.

Carina laughed slightly as she continued to grin. "And just think, now that you know she's a selkie all the fun will be worn off!"

Jack frowned. "You know I almost liked you!"

"A selkie in the brig!" Barbossa laughed, "Gibbs!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" Gibbs replied, having been standing on deck with the rest of the crew watching the entire conversation enfold.

"Take him to the brig!" Barbossa hollered.

"No, don't!" Jack protested, clearly worried, "He's not the Captain of me ship!"

Barbossa grinned just as much as Carina had in fact she still was grinning. "Take him to the brig or I'll be sure ta allow Jones ta skin ya first!" he ordered.

Gibbs jumped up and immediately grabbed Jack. Jack of course tried to fight him off, but other crew members were quick to help Gibbs. Soon enough Jack was out of sight being dragged below deck to the brig. I noticed Elizabeth smiling at the sight. I think she had more than enough of him that day.

Moments later though the crew returned, all a little too interested in the ground. Something suspicious was happening.

"Uh Captain!" Marty yelled, looking from myself to Henry to Elizabeth to Barbossa, confused, "Just who is Captain now?"

The entire crew of the Pearl as well as Elizabeth, Henry and I all looked at each other puzzled. Some were shrugging, some were shaking their heads, some were mumbling questioning remarks and basically just everyone was reacting in total confusion.

"Can I be Captain?" Scrum asked, louder than the rest.

"Now come on!" Gibbs protested, "Captain would make most sense to go to me seems how I was Jack's right hand man and all!"

"But Jack was just put in the brig for being a bad captain," Scrum protested, "Why would we want his right hand man then?"

"I want to be Captain!" another crew member argued.

"It should be me!" another pitched in, pounding his fist to his chest.

Barbossa rolled his eyes at all the commotion. "Enough!" he yelled, "Turner's Captain cause I say so and seems how I be the one who's gonna save all yer asses I highly suggest ye be listening ta me, understand?"

Everyone was immediately silenced and nodded, everyone except Scrum. "Uh, begging your pardon, Captain, but it would seem there be three Turners, causing some confusion!" he hollered back at Barbossa.

"The one with experience!" Barbossa yelled, throwing his head back and rolling his eyes.

"Uh I think that one could argue that two of the Turners have exp..." Scrum began before Barbossa cut him off.

"The one with the most experience, savvy?!" he replied, angrily.

"Bloody pirates!" Carina yelled, just loud enough to be heard from our ship. She too rolled her eyes.

I couldn't exactly say I was happy to be a captain again. While I once might have been overjoyed at the honor of having Barbossa make me Captain of the Pearl for a pirating adventure, it was no longer something I really desired. I didn't want to be on this adventure at all. I wanted to be home on the island with my wife, son and Carina. I wanted to just be a father and husband, not a pirate captain. I supposed though, no longer having to answer to Jack was a definite bonus.

"Now!" Barbossa hollered, "We must be finding Jones!"

The very name sent chills into my spine. The thought of facing him again was dreadful. I could feel my entire being wanting to shake, but tried to steady myself, not wanting to let it show. I was Captain now. The crew was looking up to me, I could not show my fear. That would not help put them at ease about the dangerous, but necessary mission we were about to embark on.

Barbossa suddenly stopped and looked up. He chewed on his tongue for a moment, still looking upwards then finally lowering his head spoke, "But first, duty calls! Don't want to be turning all tentacly now! Will be back in a moment, mates! Carina, you better head back to the Pearl, luv."

Carina nodded.

"Hold me!" Barbossa ordered, as he grabbed on to her. He smiled. "Trust me."

He then used his dead-like, Captain of the Dutchman, magic (for lack of a better word) to fly over to our ship almost as though he was teleporting, but without ever vanishing from sight. He was holding Carina the whole time who in turn grabbed onto him. He placed her down on the deck in front of us all and then teleported back to his own ship, this time physically vanishing momentarily as he did.

"I'll be back!" he said, making eye contact with only Carina. Then just like that the Dutchman vanished to do its' duty once again.

Carina held the blanket that she'd acquired aboard the Dutchman around herself once more. "Although, he is a pirate," she said, starring off into the sea to where the Dutchman had last been seen, "It would seem he is someone who one can almost approve of, don't you think?"

Henry grinned, moving to stand beside her, "Both my parents are pirates," he answered, also looking out to the sea, "Pirates can be good people."

Carina nodded, pulling her blanket closer she turned to face Henry, "But now," she sighed, "Just what did Jack mean earlier when he said that your curse wouldn't be holding anything against you because you still did right by me, as much as you were capable of?"

Henry swallowed. He certainly had a lot of explaining to do and this was not going to be easy now that she had found out from someone other than him first. I wasn't sure whether I should stay there to help back up my son or leave to give them some privacy. Things weren't exactly private though. The entire crew was surrounding us.

"Perhaps before we go on to explain such things," Gibbs said, facing me. It was almost as if he was on cue with my thoughts. "We should uh address another problem?"

"What problem?" I questioned.

"It would appear that…," Gibbs stuttered, "Well you see… information… information may not have been passed on to all members aboard the ship as well as it should have been."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"When we went to throw Jack in the brig, Captain," Gibbs explained, "A greater problem may have presented itself."

"Being?"

"There may have," Gibbs replied, awkwardly, his feet shuffling as he starred them down, "Been someone in the cell with Alva already."

Great, just what I needed. Within minutes of becoming Captain I was going to have to deal with a selkie stealing a man's heart.

I sighed heavily. "Who's fallen in love with Alva this time?"

Gibbs opened his mouth to speak then closed it again. He sighed.

Scrum decided to answer for him instead, likely impatient. "The missionary."

Somehow a missionary and a selkie did not seem like a good mix. Nearby, Elizabeth laughed slightly then quickly caught herself and held her tongue.

It was rather odd. Weren't missionaries suppose to be pure? Selkies were quite the opposite. And if this missionary's true love was a mermaid somehow I doubted he'd done anything impure with her since it should probably be physically impossible. It was a little funny, but at the same time it really wasn't. Poor Philip probably didn't even know what had hit him.

"And what did you do when you found the missionary with the selkie?" I asked.

Scrum shrugged. "Didn't seem like there was anything we could do. She said they were happy."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Pirates could be so stubborn sometimes. "Of course she said they were happy. She's a selkie! They're known liars! Go, get him away from her now!"

"Aye!" Scrum agreed. Then he and the other crew members went below deck to break up the missionary and the selkie.

"And when you do get him away!" I hollered, just before they ran out of earshot, "Don't forget to tell him how she's a selkie and he's not really in love with her. If you don't mention that you won't break her curse on him and he'll just go back to her the moment he gets a chance!"

"Aye, aye, Captain Turner," Gibbs agreed. With that they were all gone below deck.

"Idiots," Carina mumbled under her breathe, "Why did they need to wait to be told to do that?"

Henry shrugged. "There's a reason none of them were chosen to be captain."

"I'll say," she agreed, rolling her eyes. Then she sighed. "You know you still haven't explained to me about your curse yet… in full anyway… yet it seems you had no problem informing Jack."

Henry sighed. "A mistake I regret, I should have told you first."

"Henry," she sighed again, her eyes meeting his. "What is your curse? The truth?"

Henry sighed. "I wanted to tell you," he said, slowly walking away from Elizabeth and I, "I just didn't know how." He nodded for Carina to follow him and she did.

"There's a lot more to my curse than just this necklace keeping me alive. If it falls off I die, that part's true," he said, looking at the ground, no longer walking now that there was some space between his parents and Carina and him, "But other than being pulled off there is another thing that could cause it to automatically fall off."

Carina watched him, looking right at him even though he refused to make eye contact with her.

"Because I pushed you out of the way, taking the curse upon myself instead of you, I have to be loyal to you forever. I have to always put your needs above my own. I have to do what's best by you to the best of my ability and never hurt you."

Carina frowned as her gaze moved from Henry to the ground. I wondered if it was wrong for Elizabeth and I to be watching, but curiosity had it's hold on me. I supposed the same was true for Elizabeth.

Carina looked up towards him again, but her eyes wondered as she refused to make eye contact. "Is your necklace still on right now?" she asked, quietly.

Henry eyes narrowed as his mouth twisted. "Yes," he said, puzzled.

"Good, for that I am glad," she answered, "Though I think you don't fully understand your curse."

"What do you mean?"

"You hurt me, Henry," she answered, "You told Jack first. You kept the curse secret from me and you lied to me. Now, how am I suppose to know that what you say is true? How am I suppose to trust you when you say you love me and know that you really do and it's not just to please your stupid curse?"

She turned away from him and he reached out to grab her arm. "Carina," he begged, "Trust me when I say my love is true."

She turned to face him once again as he continued, "I would never lie to you about that. I only lied about the curse because I feared that if you knew everything about it you would obligated to care about me, to love me. I didn't want you to be forced into anything. I wanted you to love me for me not because some necklace forced you into it. I promise I will never withhold the truth or lie to you again. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I told Jack before you. I just… I only wanted to give you the chance to fall in love without the fear of some horrible curse pulling us together."

Carina blinked, likely fighting a couple tears. "Answer me this," she begged, sadly, "If you didn't have the necklace, if it wasn't connected to me, would you still be here with me?"

Henry instantly nodded. "Yes, of course, Carina I loved you long before the necklace was even in my possession, I just didn't know it yet. It's why I pushed you out of the witch's lair to begin with, because I love you. I couldn't bare you to be cursed, I rather would have taken on Shansa's curse myself because I love you.

I think I've loved you since the moment you fell into my arms when they were trying to hang you and you were going on about how inappropriate me touching you was even though if I'd have let go you would have been hung. I loved you then, I love you now, and I honestly think I always will love you.

I don't even care if you one day stop loving me, well… actually I do… please don't do that… but necklace or not, I'll still always be faithful to you, always love you, and always put your own well being before my own, always."

My boy really did have a way with words. I grinned, watching his first real romance bloom before my eyes. I was happy to finally be here for my family and to get to witness these things. I had thought I had missed all of Henry's firsts, but I had been wrong.

Elizabeth smiled beside me and took my hand, leaning her head on my shoulder. "We really should probably leave them alone," she whispered.

I knew she was right. Curiosity had let me watch their conversation so far, but as Carina smiled back at Henry and leaned in to kiss him I knew that they would be okay and that they really did deserve their privacy.

I turned around to walk away and led Elizabeth with me.

"They're so young and in love," she stated, as we walked toward the other end of the ship. "Just think one day he'll be married and now you can be at the wedding!"

I laughed a little. "Slow down, they're not getting married yet!"

"But they will," she grinned, still holding my hand, but her head was now straight up, supporting itself in anticipation and excitement. "And when they do his father can attend his wedding!"

I smiled. That little fact made me happier than anyone truly knew especially because for so long that idea had seemed impossible.

"I used to hate the idea of him getting married," she admitted, "Not because I didn't want him to be happy, but because I couldn't fathom the thought of him leaving me to live alone. It was bad enough when he'd go on his naval voyages and leave for months upon end, but at least then I knew he'd come home eventually. Once he got married he wouldn't come home permanently ever again, only to visit, and even then only if he married locally."

"Oh he better stay local," I replied, "Or we'll be moving to wherever he goes." I was going to miss out on any more of my son's life than I already had.

Elizabeth's smile grew. "I won't be alone now when he does leave home," she softly stated, looking at me through her sparkling, loving eyes.

I smiled. "You'll never be alone again," I said and kissed her.

I hoped that wasn't a lie. I really did, but with Jones soon to approach us, a selkie causing trouble below deck, a mermaid and missionary who couldn't be in love together because of me, and no idea where Poseidon's son was or how to find him, I was beginning to have my doubts. I knew that if it came down to it I would sacrifice my own life for either Elizabeth's or my son's, but I greatly hoped it wouldn't come to that. Yet, even if it never came to that one question still lurked in the back of my mind; if Poseidon's son could only right all curses that had gone wrong by breaking the trident in the first place did that mean that fixing them meant re-enabling my former curse? I really, really hoped it didn't.

I didn't want to think about that though. Not when my wife was here right beside me. Instead I would spend the day talking to her, enjoying her presence while we awaited Barbossa's return. She told me stories about young Henry and raising him as a single mother and I listened with great intent and laughed along at how much of a handful my young son had been. I loved hearing about things I had missed because I loved hearing about my son. As much as I wished I had never missed them I could not help, but smile at these stories. I quite possibly had the best son and wife in the world.

* * *

A/N:

Huge shout out to all my wonderful reviewers last chapter. I can't really reply here as I normally do because it's 1:30 am and i should have stopped writing over 2 hours ago, but right now I just want to get this chapter up! Sorry mates, but know that I love and appreciate all your lovely reviews! Thanks so much for reading everybody! :D

Also, I will reply to any outstanding PMs soon, likely tomorrow night as well. Guys it has been a crazy week, my work laid off over 140 employees myself included :( But it's gonna be okay, it sucks, but im gonna use this as a new opportunity to try new things. So don't feel bad for me, I only tell you this because Im pretty sure last chapter I promised to try and update sooner than usual since it was so short and I didn't because well that happened. And I struggled to even get this chapter out in the usual time frame because of it.

Anyway, enough rambling, thanks so much for reading! :) I will update when I can update. If it takes awhile it's cause real life is being crazy right now, NOT because I am abandoning this story. I seem to always get someone asking me that if I take awhile, but I will not do that. This will be finished! Thanks for your understanding. Have a wonderful week guys! :D


	14. Children

Chapter 14: Children

 **Elizabeth's POV:**

Waiting had never been something I was good at doing. I was anxious for Barbossa's return, knowing every moment we stood still was another moment Jones had to catch up to us. I feared what would happen if he caught us before Barbossa came back. If this were like old times I would probably have started pacing across a small space on the ship, worries following through my mind. There was a great difference between old times and current times though; now I had Will.

I leaned against his shoulder, enjoying the simple ability to relax in his presence. Moments ago I had been venting to him about my fears of Henry growing up and leaving home and how calming it was to think that now at least when he did go I wouldn't be completely alone. It was so reassuring to have him respond with something that under normal circumstance would seem simple and expected, but under our circumstances the words "you'll never be alone again" meant so much more. Fears that had encompassed me for years were no more. I was with Will now and forever more.

I felt Will's arm wrap around my back and his hand gently grabbed onto my side. Who would have thought a simple gesture could mean so much? His touch sent sparks throughout my entire body. Nothing had ever felt so right. I felt safe and like I could completely relax. It was impossible to withhold the smile from my face as the rest of the world blurred away.

None of the other pirates on board our ship mattered. I even forgot about poor Philip and to check that the other crew members had successfully pulled him away from the selkie, as I had intended to do upon hearing about his unfortunate succumbing. I even forgot about my son and the girl he was courting who were nearby. I had meant to keep a distant eye on them, noting before Will and I had left to give them some privacy that their kiss was becoming perhaps a little too intimate. I did not want my son making any mistakes with a girl.

Those thoughts faded though. None of them mattered when Will was there. That and even I was beginning to notice that I was starting to think a little too much like how my father did. Henry was a grown up after all. Either way, Will's touch made me forget all about my worries.

I breathed in his sent without even trying. It was a scent that again melted the very core of my being. A part of me wanted to bring him under deck and take things to another level, but the more logical part knew this was not the time. We had no idea when Barbossa would be returning, but whenever he did I wanted to be there.

I lifted my head from his shoulder, straightening it to speak, but left the rest of my body leaning against him. "Did you know when you first came home for your ten year visit I was worried sick about how you'd react to Henry?" I asked, smiling.

His beautiful chocolate eyes turned to meet my own. "You really worried I wouldn't be happy?"

I shook my head, still smiling. "No, I knew you'd be happy to have a son. It was your reaction to him growing up without you I worried about." I felt the smile leave my face as I grew serious. "I knew how much it hurt you growing up without your own father."

The warm feelings being beside Will always brought on grew colder at the mention of Bootstrap. I knew he had got to spend more time with him in recent years, but I still wasn't sure exactly what his feelings about his father were now.

Will's gaze shifted towards the deck below us. His smile also left his face. "Aye," he agreed like the true pirate captain he was, "I did regret that. It brought me some peace knowing Henry knew I had no choice in the matter and would have been with him if I could have, but it was hard nonetheless."

I nodded, feeling my frown deepen. "He always loved you, you know."

Will nodded. He smiled again. "He's proved that plenty of times over."

I smiled at seeing him smile once more, that peace I felt at Will's presence all coming back again. I felt my heartbeat fluttering within my chest.

I laughed out loud a little thinking of my past with Henry. I smiled, sitting up, as I met Will's eyes again, "I had secretly hoped that you would have gotten me pregnant again that night," I smiled, laughing internally now at how silly that sounded.

"What night?" he asked, confused.

"The first night you met Henry, your one night every ten years on land," I answered, smiling even more.

Will smiled back at me and I knew he too was rather amused at the thought. "I'm sure your village would have loved that," he remarked sarcastically, "It's one thing for you to show up at the village as a pregnant recently widowed woman. It's another thing entirely to explain how your dead husband managed to get you pregnant ten years later."

I grinned. "Yes, I somehow don't think they would have believed me."

"I don't think I would have believe you had I not known any better," he laughed, gently pushing my body back to lean against his side once more.

I sat there against him for a moment simply enjoying his closeness. He gently rubbed his hand up and down my shoulder lovingly. When he suddenly stopped I knew he had something else to say.

"You really wanted another child?" he asked.

I grinned mischievously, looking up to meet his eyes once more. "Wouldn't you?" I asked, "Henry was and still is amazing, but the world could use more people like you, with your genetic inheritance. Henry would have loved a little brother or sister… and I would have loved having another child."

Will said nothing for a moment, but I could tell by his reaction that he was deep in thought. He was starring at absolutely nothing, but starring hard at it, barely even blinking, with the most serious expression on his face. He was still rubbing my shoulder, but at a very slow pace, one where he would even stop for a few seconds every now and then before continuing.

I sighed out loud. I wanted to know what was on his mind, what was upsetting him so much.

He didn't respond. I waited as patiently as I could for him to open up to me. I knew he would as soon as he was ready. I knew from our courting days that he didn't like to be interrupted when he got like this, but that as soon as he was ready he would let me inside his head.

After what felt like many minutes later, but was probably really only a couple, he turned his head to face me again. "Do you still," he began, "Want another one now?"

I paused. Up until that point my heart had continued to flutter within my chest, being so close to Will could have that effect. When he'd asked that though it was as though all time stopped. This was something I hadn't quite considered. Did I?

Sitting up again I looked at Will and all my doubts vanished in an instance. My heart continued fluttering again and that smile he was constantly bringing on me returned. "Maybe," I calmly replied, leaning back into his strong body, but I knew inside that "maybe" actually meant "yes."

I smiled, leaning against his side, dreaming of Will as an actual present father. He was so good with Henry when he was younger, even if they did only get to spend a day together. I knew he'd be great with a child. He deserved this chance. Plus I definitely was the exact opposite of opposed to raising another child myself. Even though I hadn't thought of it until he had just mentioned it, I was now beginning to excite at the thought of another baby especially the thought of getting to raise this one with Will.

I felt Will gently tighten his grip on my shoulder. "Maybe we should have more children then," he smiled.

I felt my own smile deepen. "Not until Jones is gone though," I replied calmly, "And this whole mess with the curses is dealt with."

Will nodded. "Of course, not until then," he assured.

I smiled again at the thought of more children with Will. I felt a sense of hope I hadn't felt in a long time. Our lives perhaps could end up turning out to be exactly how we'd always dreamed them to be, we would just be starting at it a lot later than we'd originally planned and with an older son that would actually be so much older than his siblings that he could be their own father. That was an odd thought. Henry was an understanding man though. Given our odd circumstances I was sure he'd be okay with it and probably even happy for us.

I grinned as a thought came to me. "Maybe Henry could even babysit for us when need be to help prepare him for fatherhood," I said to Will, testing to see his response.

His eyes narrowed momentarily and then I watched as they softened again. He smiled. "You realize if you keep lecturing him on being alone with girls, that will never be possible," he joked.

That wasn't quite the response I had expected. "Well they have to get married first," I explained.

Will laughed. "Of course," he agreed.

I wasn't sure if he was merely agreeing for my benefit or if he actually did agree. Either way this was not something I would be persuaded on. It was improper for anyone to be with a woman they weren't wed to. I didn't care that the men we seemed to constantly end up around didn't follow those rules. Henry would follow them. Or at least as much as I could control it he would.

Will must have sensed my uneasiness. "He's fine," he said, reassuringly, "You raised him with a core set of beliefs, morals and values. He's very adamant about sticking to them, Elizabeth. I wouldn't worry about him in that way. I don't."

I sighed, knowing he was right. "He wasn't always easy to raise, you know," I grinned.

"I don't doubt it," Will agreed, "I could tell from the little time I did get to spend with the young Henry Turner that he was far too much like his mother to be a simply well behaved child."

I chuckled a little. "Well you're right about that," I replied, "Though I don't remember his father to be a perfect little angel either."

Will grinned. "I was only following my best friend. And I do believe I was always the one suggesting we stop and go back or warning you about how we could get in trouble."

I shook my head. "Yes. You warned about trouble, you suggested we stop, but you never really did stop nor did you try to stop me."

"Well you were unstoppable. And what was I to do, tattle on you?"

I laughed. "You would have regretted that."

"I knew that," he grinned, "That's why I followed you instead… Plus it was more fun that way anyway."

I felt my smile grow again. Then my smile left as my expression turned more serious. "Henry was so much like you growing up."

"I thought we just agreed he was like you," Will teased.

"No, well yes... but he was more like a mixture of both of us. He had my desire for adventure and that often got him into trouble, but at the same time he had your longing to be perfect. It was a terrible mix."

Will chuckled slightly.

I felt my eyes beginning to water up. "I wish you could have been there to see."

Will nodded slowly in response.

"You know once he came home covered completely in mud and told me it was just an illusion. He was merely six."

"Six and he knew the word illusion?" Will asked, his eyes narrowing.

"He was always a smart boy," I explained, looking towards the clouds in the sky as I reminisced.

"He had a smart mother to teach him," Will answered.

I looked from the clouds back to him and my heart started beating a little faster within my chest at the sight of his smile. I returned his smile with my own. Our eyes met and looking into his soft brown eyes I felt at home even though we were miles away from the physical little place I called home. For a moment I forgot all about Jones, Barbossa, and Henry's cursed necklace. All that matter was Will.

I felt my smile grow as I remembered back to that day with Henry. "He wasn't even suppose to be out that day. He was so too young to be wondering out alone, merely six," I continued remembering out loud, "But he snuck out and got muddy, which I of course forbid him from doing..."

"You?" Will asked, "You actually tried to forbid your own son, someone who shared your genes, to not get muddy?"

I laughed. I was certain he remembered how dirty I had always come home from our adventures as children. I also remember my father's reaction; he was never pleased.

"A little mud isn't a huge deal," I answered, defending myself, "But to be covered from head to toe!?"

Will shook his head, grinning. "You know if I remember correctly a younger Elizabeth always swore she would never be as strict with her own daughter as her father was with her," he half joked.

I laughed. "Yes, I always said I wouldn't be strict with my _daughter._ Luckily for me, I had a son."

Will chuckled a little, shaking his head at my defiance.

"And I wasn't as strict as my father," I corrected, "If Henry ever came home a little muddy, say just his shoes and the bottom of his trousers were muddy, that would have been fine. I would never reprehend him for that. That day though we weren't talking about a little bit of mud. He was covered from head to toe. You could even see where he had mud by his eyes before he'd wiped it off just so he could see or the mud he'd wiped away from his mouth so he wouldn't have to taste it. Other than that he was covered."

Will laughed again. "How did he manage to do that?"

I sighed, shrugging as I smiled. "I don't know. Like I said, he told me it was an illusion."

Will laughed harder at that than he had all day.

"Apparently," I continued, "The mud was all in my mind. I was dreaming, or so he told me. And when I woke up I would realize that he'd never left. He tried to convince me to go back to bed. When I refused he did manage to convince me to sit back and read while he dealt with the so called illusion."

Will chuckled again.

"You know what he did next?" I asked.

Will shook his head.

"While I sat down in our living room to read, he brought in his own bath water. He of course couldn't carry a full bucket—he was only six. He brought in half bucket after half bucket until the tub was full, of freezing cold water that is, he didn't know how to light a fire to warm it. It took him until sundown. Then he bathed and cleaned himself from all the mud and tried to do his own laundry even, but I stopped him then. I figured he had been punished enough after watching him spending his entire day making his own bath and cleaning in the cold water."

"Weren't you afraid he'd catch a cold?" Will asked.

I shrugged. "It was a warm day."

Will grinned. "Seems you are different than your father after all."

I smiled. "Yes, he would have never married a pirate."

Will grinned again as his head moved closer to my own. I slowly tilted my own head in to meet his and we kissed.

I pulled away after a moment. I grinned, my head still close to his. I turned to look ahead again. I loved kissing Will and I always would, but right then I just wanted to talk to him. Our relationship had always been more than just physical and I always wanted it to remain that way.

"You know he ran away once," I said, talking about Henry again,"It wasn't long after he had first met you. He'd gone off to find his father."

Will also turned to look straight ahead once more and nodded. His expression changed to a rather serious one as his smile faded and his eyes just starred straight ahead, barely blinking. He said nothing.

"He was so obsessed with you before he met you," I explained, "But afterwards that obsession only grew. You were no longer just a man from his mother's stories, you were real to him. That's when he decided he was going to save you. He'd spend hours and hours researching, trying to find a successful way. All he ever wanted to read were books about the sea and sea myths and curses. He was so determined to find a way. Then one day he found out about the Trident of Poseidon. From that moment on all it was all he talked about. Everything he did, every choice he made was about finding that trident."

I sighed and took a moment to breathe in and out before continuing. "And to think," I continued, "It's what caused all these problems. Now we've got a selkie in the brig, a man who can't find his mermaid lover, Jones is after us and we just spent weeks chasing down a ship we worked years to free you from."

Will nodded, his face expressionless as he continued starring forward. After a brief moment of silence, he turned to face me again. "It did cause a lot of problems, but… it's also the reason I'm here now. And even if… for some reason that should change… we'll always have now."

My eyes welled up slightly with tears. I smiled though. Even though the thought of him potentially having to leave was heart wrenching he was right—we would always have now. That terrible possibility that it could end was something Will and I barely spoke of, yet we both knew it could happen. It was something I couldn't focus on without my eyes watering.

"My hope is,"Will continued, We'll have a lot longer than that though."

I nodded still blinking back tears.

"Did he ever tell you where he went that night when he ran away?" Will asked, changing the subject, likely to get my mind off the possibility we'd be separated again. I didn't mind though, there was no point really in dwelling on what could potentially happen, not while there was still hope that it might not.

I shook my head in response to what Will had just asked. "No," I answered, "It was more than a night though. It was two days, three nights in total. I was so mad at him. Mad, but yet so relieved that he had returned safely that I didn't know whether to hug him or scream at him."

Will chuckled a little again. I smiled. I loved hearing his laugh even if it was brief, especially after the serious conversation we had just had about the possibility of him having to leave again. He'd said he had hope things could be okay though and I hoped that hope wasn't falsely placed.

"I think that was when he found me on board the Dutchman," Will admitted.

"What?" I asked out loud, not knowing how else to respond. "He… he told me he had been chasing a lead he had to freeing you, but that it had led to a dead end. I had gotten so angry at him, telling him that he had to stop chasing these leads. I'm not sure he did, but he did stop telling me about them and never stayed out overnight chasing them again… at least not until after he joined the navy."

Will shook his head, sighing. "He could have been killed. I was so angry. He was so sure he had a way to free me with the trident, but I told him not to try. It was too dangerous, even finding me then was dangerous. I was so angry at him… but I barely even knew how to react. I love that boy. I knew he was only trying to save me because he loved me too, but he had to know that he couldn't pull stunts like that. The Dutchman was no place for a boy. I'd ordered him to go back to you, and sent him off the ship, but not before hugging him first. He shouldn't have been there, but that didn't mean I loved him any less."

Suddenly, something dawned on me. "Your necklace he had?" I asked, "You gave it to him that night?"

Will nodded.

"He'd told me you'd given it to him when saying goodbye the day he first met you, your one day every ten years," I sighed, "But I'd never noticed him wearing it until after he'd run away that time. Then he never took it off, not until the day you came home for good."

Will sat in silence again starring forward. I did the same for a moment as well. Then I shook my head.

"We can't go back to that," I said, breaking our silence.

Will sighed. "We'll fight it if we can."

"There has to be a way to fight it. Henry and Carina can't have risked everything just for a few extra months with you."

Will nodded.

"No cause is a lost cause..." I said, quoting something Will had said long ago.

"If there is one fool left to fight for it," he continued, cutting me off to complete the quote himself. "I was that fool once. I saved my father, freed him from his curse, and got to spend many years with him aboard the Dutchman afterwards. Henry's been a fool fighting for a lost cause now too, getting that trident to save me from my curse. Now I think it's turn my turn again."

I nodded. "This time though," I corrected, "There will be more than one fool."

Will grinned as did I. "That there will be," he replied.

I felt my smile grow. I loved spending this time with him. I wouldn't give it up. If a fight was necessary than a fight would be had.

"Has it really been months?" Will asked.

He had caught me off guard and at first I wasn't entirely sure what he had meant. I suppose he noticed the confusion from my puzzled expression as he elaborated before I got the chance to speak.

"Time goes by so much faster with you and Henry than it ever did on the Dutchman," he explained, "But it has been months hasn't it?"

I nodded. "We left our island home to first sail to Shana's place and that journey took a few weeks, then sailing to find Jack told a few more weeks. Then our journey to Barbossa was the longest part of our voyage yet… probably why Jack gave up and threw Carina in the water… not something I'm condoning though… I suppose it almost may make sense now."

Will nodded. "With the way the Dutchman is always moving and teleporting Jack may have almost been in the right," he sighed, "Though there had to have been a better way than to risk Carina's life."

I honestly wasn't paying attention to him anymore. I thought over what I had just said and my mind started racing, replaying the timeline of how long we had been aboard the ship and adding up how long it had been since mother nature had last visited with her monthly gift.

I shrugged that off out of pure necessity. Until things were confirmed there was no need in worrying. I didn't have any symptoms yet to really suggest anything, did I? Though I supposed I had perhaps been a little more on edge than usual, but up until then I had accounted that to stress.

Thinking about stress, I wondered what was taking Barbossa so long. Jones could arrive at any moment and how would we fight him without Barbossa's help? How does one fight off someone who is already dead?

"What's worrying you?" Will asked. He knew. He always knew.

"Jones," I mumbled. It technically wasn't a lie. I was worried about Jones now, not what I had previously been worrying about mere moments ago.

Will nodded and held me close. "I'm sure Barbossa will be back soon. Just sometimes certain things take awhile to accomplish when Captaining the Dutchman. Not everyone is always willing to easily head to world's end. Leading the lost souls sounds easier in theory than it can be in reality."

I nodded.

"Why don't we get some rest?" he suggested. That would make sense. The day was passing by and the sun had already began to set. Not to mention, at this rate it seemed like Barbossa might even be returning in the middle of the night in which case it was important to get sleep whenever time allotted for it.

I nodded and didn't hesitate when he led me under deck to the room we had been sleeping in. We of course bid goodnight to Henry and Carina before doing so. The two of them also seemed to be spending our time waiting enjoying each others company-hopefully not too much.

As I lay in bed beside Will that night I contemplated what I had come to realize earlier that day. It really had been awhile since mother nature's monthly gift of womanhood had arrived. I calculated everything in my head. I disn't think our marital reunion right after Will returned had been the reason. No, that couldn't have been when it happened. There had been times after that though, multiple times that could have accounted for everything. One of our times aboard Jack's ship was likely when it happened. Anyway, when didn't really matter.

That morning, as if on cue, I awoke before Will (something that rarely happened) with morning sickness. I ran out of our room below deck to the edge of the deck and let the contents of my stomach out over the edge of the ship. Being my second pregnancy, as well as being at sea a lot more frequently than I'd cared to admit, I knew this wasn't simply sea sickness. That only confirmed my suspicions. Now the question was how would Will respond?

My stomach calming down I went back to our room. Will was up, sitting in bed, but barely awake.

"Will," I said, worried a bit over his response. I felt my breath quicken.

He turned and gave me his full attention, starring me down with those deep brown eyes again. Those eyes could calm all my worries in an instant. Looking into those eyes, my breathing returned to it's normal stance. I suddenly knew everything would be okay.

"Will," I said again, my voice calm this time, "Thinking last night about how long we've been on this ship and after getting morning sickness this morning to confirm it... I do believe that soon Henry may not be our only child."

Will's head tilted as his mouth twisted. "What?" he asked, not understanding.

I gave him a moment to process everything.

"You're pregnant?" he asked, interpreting what I'd just said.

We hadn't exactly taken precautions to ensure I didn't get pregnant. At first it was something I simply didn't care about. Then it became something that just never really crossed my mind in the heat of the moment. It was only then as we were aboard a pirate ship, awaiting the Captain of the Dutchman that I really began to worry about exactly what that might come to mean.

I nodded in reply to Will's question and sat on the bed beside him. "I think so."

Will smiled.

"The timing isn't exactly perfect," I admitted, looking downwards in shame.

Will shrugged and gently laid his hand on my thigh affectionately. "No, but, our timing never really has been, has it?"

I grinned. He was right about that. His eyes met mine again and I felt like I could melt all over.

He leaned forward and kissed me passionately. I knew then that everything would be alright. Even though the timing of my pregnancy was not necessarily ideal, Will was there and that alone would make it alright. We'd get through this, but now I had even greater motivation that ever before to make sure that after finding Poseidon's son, Will could not and would not go back to being cursed to the Dutchman. I would not have another child being raised without a father. My determination was stronger than ever. We would find a way. We simply had to.

* * *

A/N:

Firstly, a special thanks to all my readers for your patience as finding time to update recently has been rough and prolonged. I am hoping that will start to improve again soon, but as of right now I can't promise anything. I am really sorry. But thank you for holding up. You are all amazing!

Secondly, shout outs to Pats4Life who asked about the timing of the story. I knew I wanted to introduce baby Turner #2 in this chapter and couldn't figure out how but that review gave me an idea. So major thanks for that! :D

And also shout outs to She-Elf who caught on to my little hint at a new baby Turner that was thrown out there last chapter without being too obvious.

Also we've officially hit over 120 reviews! To have this many, this early into a story is phenomenal. You guys are just the greatest! Thank you so much!

Anyway, yay baby Turner and fluffiness chapter! I had fun with it, hope you enjoyed it!

And to nonregistered reviewers:

Cuckoo: I know you technically reviewed 2 chapters ago, but just wanted to say I'm so glad to see you're loving this story so much! Happy to lighten your day. Thanks for reviewing

Karissa: Thanks! Glad you like it! Thanks for your review.

Smithy: thanks for mentioning about the job. Its rough, but I have some leads now and I think things are starting to turn around… slowly. Bootstrap will come. Not sure exactly when yet, but there will of course be interactions with him soon. Thanks for your review!

ButtKraken: glad your still loving it! Hope you enjoyed the new one as well. Thanks for reviewing again!

She-Elf: Haven't decided yet when or if any convo like that will occur between Barbossa / Will. Maybe though. There's some others plot elements I think I'd like to cover first. And as mentioned above, you now have bragging rights! :D Thanks for reviewing again!

NourSuga: They wont leave him in there forever. I think Henry's really his best ally at this point, but he's still a little too steamed at Jack to even consider letting him out. Thanks for reviewing!


	15. An Enemy Returns

A/N:

So I still can't write songs and therefore the song mentioned in this chapter isnt mine. Its from the animated film by Fox Studios, Anastasia. I did however change a couple words to make it fit our exact situation

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Chapter 15: An Enemy Returns

 **Will's POV:**

Elizabeth was pregnant. Pregnant with my child—make that my second child. This time would be different though. This time I would be there to see the child grow up. I would be a present father from day one onward. No, not just from day one, from even before the child was born.

With Henry I had never felt the expectation of knowing a baby was growing inside my wife and waiting for that baby to enter the world. I hadn't known Henry existed until he was nine. With this new child I would be there every step of the way, starting at the very beginning.

The anticipation grew inside me at the idea of Elizabeth being pregnant, but with that came some anxiety. I didn't know what to do as a husband. What was she expecting my role to be in her pregnancy? How could I help her externally as she internally created a child? I knew what she probably would expect; nothing. Elizabeth had been pregnant before. This wasn't new to her at all. She had done it alone before and, knowing her, she would be willing to do it alone again. She probably wouldn't expect my help at all. She certainly wouldn't ask for it. I would have to figure out what she needed on my own most likely and perhaps even sometimes force my help upon her. She could be stubborn like that. She wouldn't be doing this alone this time. I wouldn't let her.

I was now more motivated than ever to find a way to save all those who had been affected by my curse while also remaining a free man myself. I had to for not only Elizabeth and Henry, but now our other future child. There had to be a way. I would find it.

Henry. Now that was something I worried about.

"How do you think Henry will handle the news?" I asked Elizabeth who was still sitting beside me on the bed as the two of us took in our new reality.

Elizabeth grinned. "I'm sure he'll be happy about the baby."

"There will be quite the age difference between them," I said, stating the obvious.

"Yes, but I'm sure Henry will be fine with it. There are pretty obvious reasons for the age difference being that you were cursed and all."

I nodded, but the age difference wasn't what really worried me. As always she knew when something else was going on.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, looking into my eyes as a slight sorrow filled hers. "Is it the timing your worried about?" she guessed, "Because of Jones running loose?"

I knew that was what had her worried the most. I could tell from the way she tensed up at the mention of Jones and all her talk of timing that she was worried our second baby wouldn't even get a chance to set foot on land before something terrible happened to it.

That did worry me a bit as well, but I had faith that we could protect the child, especially while it still lay in her belly. It was after it's birth that I might have been more worried about, but I hoped to have this whole ordeal with Jones and curses wrapped up by then.

"No," I sighed beside Elizabeth, "The baby will have an excellent support system making sure he or she stays alive. There are plenty aboard this ship that would die to keep that child safe. I'm not worried about that."

That sadness in her eyes grew. "Then what are you worried about?"

I sighed again. "Henry."

Elizabeth smiled, all sorrow leaving her expression. "Will, I told you," she grinned, shaking her head, "Henry will be fine with it. The age difference isn't ideal per say, but he'll be fine. Like we were joking earlier, maybe he could even babysit for us. And he'll understand..."

"But will he understand why I'm there for this child in a way I never was for him?" I asked, cutting her off.

I sat up straight on the bed, pulling myself away from Elizabeth's side. I could feel my teeth clutching together, but I didn't care.

"He knows it's because you were cursed," Elizabeth said, trying to be reassuring. She frowned as her eyes meant my own again.

I sighed under my breath. "He's the reason I'm no longer cursed," I stated harshly, then took a quick breath as I calmed my voice before continuing. "I don't want him thinking he saved me just so we can have a do over with another child and push him aside."

"Oh Will," Elizabeth cried, gently moving beside me again as she snuggled into my chest. "He won't think that. We would never push him aside."

I dropped the topic and rested my head on top of Elizabeth's, not because I really believed her, but because it would do no good to carry on wondering. We would have to tell Henry and see then how he felt. That would be the only way to know for sure whether this would upset him or not.

I wondered how I would have felt if my own father had shown up one day with another son. Especially if that son had been loved by him and if he had played an active role in parenting that son. I would have been furious, jealous, and wondered why I wasn't good enough for that. Why would this new child be worthy of my fathers attention and love while I never had a chance to receive it as a child myself?

The circumstances with Henry were different though, Elizabeth was right about that, but could Henry look past circumstances or would he still feel like he missed out? He had missed out, but how much would it bother him to see another child, one that wouldn't miss out?

-\\_/-

"Still no sign of my father," Carina sighed as Elizabeth and I approached her and Henry on deck. They were sitting right where we'd left them the night before, toward the starboard side of the ship on some barrels leaning up against the rail of the ship as support for their backs, only now they had a blanket on top of them.

It was a little chilly. The sun was still only beginning to rise and the chill of the night air was still present.

"Did you stay here all night?" Elizabeth questioned, suspiciously.

I noticed Henry blush a little. That alone answered the question.

"I didn't want to trust pirates to take guard," Carina stated, starring dead ahead, "My father could return any moment and I will not be one to miss it."

"You won't be able to stay awake to see him if you don't get some sleep," Elizabeth replied in a motherly tone.

"Oh we did," Henry answered then stopped upon realizing what he had just said. He began blushing an even brighter shade of red.

"Yes," Carina continued, "We slept up here on there barrels to make sure that if he came back I wouldn't miss him."

"Don't you think the crew would have woken you if he'd arrived?" Elizabeth asked, eye the two of them somewhat uncomfortably.

"That's what I said," Henry admitted, "But she wouldn't have it, just in case."

I chuckled internally. He was trying to make it sound as though he had made such a sacrifice staying above deck with her, falling asleep beside her, sharing a blanket with her… but I was certain it wasn't something he'd really consider a sacrifice at all. I would have jumped at a chance to do that with Elizabeth back in the days of our youth. I also knew that I would have tried to keep as calm and cool about the whole thing as he was trying now. I wondered if he was fooling the girls.

The clamor of something falling behind us caused the four of us to turn around in unison. We turned to face a rather embarrassed Philip, picking up the pieces of a broken rum bottle, one he had clearly just dropped, causing the noise in the first place.

Gibbs scoffed, walking up from behind him holding a mop, likely having heard the crash as well. "That be why missionaries shouldn't drink. You're lucky Jack's in the cellar otherwise he'd have your head for that."

Gibbs passed Philip the mop and he eagerly took it and began wiping up the alcohol. As he wrung the alcohol out of the mop and dumped it in the sea he began singing again, softer this time than last.

"Someone holds me safe and warm,  
Mermaids dance through a silver storm,  
Our figures dancing gracefully,  
Across my memories."

"One has to feel bad for him," Carina remarked, quietly so as he would not hear, but loud enough that Elizabeth, Henry, and I would.

"The poor man," Elizabeth whispered, looking towards the deck, "I've been thinking about talking to him."

"And saying what?" Henry asked, angered, "Sorry my husbands return caused you to loose your love?"

He was a little harsh about it, something unusual for him, but he had a point.

Oblivious to our conversation, Philip continued his singing as he moped,  
"Far away, long ago,  
Glowing dim as an ember,  
Things my heart,  
Used to know,  
Things it yearns for remembered."

"You needent feel guilty, Henry," Carina said, starring directly at him, "You didn't know."

I had never stopped to question how Henry felt about everything. I knew I felt guilty that my freedom and joy had caused others suffering, but it never once occurred to me that Henry would also bare that guilt.

Henry sighed.

"I know exactly what you're thinking," Carina said, "That it is your fault, you put your happiness above others without fully stopping to think of the consequences and..."

"Now you're just repeating what I told you last night," Henry replied sighing, stopping her mid sentence.

"To which I'll again tell you the same thing I said last night," she continued as she began to emphasize every word, "You didn't know. It wasn't your fault. If you knew the consequences you would have found a different way to free your father."

In the background Philip continued his song as he mopped up the last of his mess.

"Serena holds me safe and warm,  
As we dance through a silver storm,  
Our figures touching gracefully,  
Across my memories,  
Across my memories."

"Carina's right," Elizabeth announced, "We didn't know and no one needs to feel guilty about what happened." She sighed and looked his way again. "I'm going to go talk to him."

"Eliz-" I opened my mouth to call her name, but before I could even finish saying it she was gone.

I watched as she whispered something to Philip that none of us could hear and the two of them walked together to the other end of the ship.

Sighing, I sat down beside Henry, on the ground though, making me lower than Carina and him on the barrels. I sat there cross legged with my hands in fists.

I wasn't sure what made me more angry, the fact that Elizabeth had gone off to talk to Philip or the fact that she had intentionally made sure I couldn't hear. Why was she doing this again? I thought we were past our days of distrust. I'd thought we were a team.

Perhaps I was angry over nothing though. Maybe it was better she said whatever she had to say to Philip without a crowd of onlookers. She just certainly better tell me about it afterwards!

"You're right," Carina said, breaking the silence between the three of us, "Your mother is just as stubborn as I am."

Henry grinned, "I told you I've had an awful lot of experience dealing with stubbornness."

"You're one to talk," she grinned playfully, "It takes a certain sort of stubborn to go after the trident of Poseidon, even if it is for a good purpose."

Henry blushed again and smiled. "This stubbornness has saved your life more than once."

She playfully gasped in return. Then determined to respond verbally as well she grinned. "I'll have you remember that it was indeed I who saved your life first. I do believe they wanted you for what was it…. treason?"

Henry shook his head, smirking, "And I returned that debt when I saved your life from a hanging for witchcraft. And then once more when..."

"Yes, but I never partook in any witchcraft!" she exclaimed, not letting him finish, "I was falsely accused. You on the other hand really did partake in treason."

"I was trying to avoid the captain getting us all killed," he replied defensively.

"And I was simply trying to be a woman with a brain."

"Now those are two things that shouldn't go together."

Carina really did gasp at that.

"Only joking," he replied, grinning.

Carina huffed. "Should we tell your mother you think that?" she joked, "See what she has to say?"

"She'll have my head," he laughed.

I laughed a little at that as well. I could only imagine Elizabeth's response to her son being tattled on by the girl he was courting.

The two of them went silent, my slight laughter likely reminding them that I was still indeed present and bringing them out of their own little world. I remembered what it was like to be so in love that one could forget there was anyone else even there. It was a skill I had to develop after all with Elizabeth's father being so keen on sending chaperons along with us wherever we went.

"Do you think mother's upset, father?" Henry asked, snapping me back to the present.

"About what?"

"That Carina and I stayed out here all night?"

I honestly had no idea. "She didn't directly mention it, did she?" I asked to myself just as much as him.

"No, but she's always been one to preach about propriety."

I grinned. I could already see that to be true observing her with Henry, but remembering what a younger Elizabeth was like as the two of us grew up together and courted the idea of her "preaching propriety" would always seem odd to me.

"She gets it from your grandfather," I explained, not wanting to go into much more detail than that. Henry didn't need to know what his mother was like at his age. That could be Elizabeth and I's secret.

"She told me a lot about him," Henry admitted, "She said he was lost in the greatest pirate battle of our time."

I nodded. "Aye, he was," I sighed, "He was a good man. Your mother really loved him." It was all true. He was a good man, annoying at time yes, especially because I don't think he ever really did approve of me, but a good man nonetheless—one who only wanted what he believed to be right for his daughter. And he did let me court her, even if it wasn't exactly what he'd wanted for her, he let me in… a little.

Our conversation was halted by a gigantic splash coming from the port side of the ship. Carina, Henry and I looked at each other and then instantly all jumped up and ran across to the other side of the ship. Further towards the stern, I noticed Elizabeth and Philip also running towards the port side as well. Gibbs and the other pirates soon came from from below deck and the various places on deck they had all been to join us as well.

Peering over the port side railing I watched as the Dutchman rose from below the waves. Barbossa was back.

As the ship fully rose above the surface. He grinned at the helm. "Apologies for taking so long," he hollered, "Got a little side tracked."

"Side tracked?" Henry asked out loud, though not nearly loud enough for Barbossa to hear.

"Got ya a lil present!" Barbossa yelled, though I wasn't sure who exactly he was yelling at.

I then saw him grab a man by his hair and tugged as the man stood upwards. The man had seemingly been kneeling or lying on the ground by Barbossa's feet before that point. He looked scared, but also angry at the same time.

"Mr. and Mrs. Turner!" Barbossa yelled, "Do believe I forgot ta get ya a wedding present! Here be now!"

"Who is that?" I yelled, it not yet mentally clicking.

I looked towards Elizabeth and I knew she knew something I didn't. I couldn't make out her full facial expressions with her being so far away, but she gave me a look that said everything. Her eyes widened and her mouth frowned, gaping open slightly as those eyes pleaded for my closer presense.

"Will!" she yelled. Before I could even grasp what was fully happening I saw her running towards me. She ran straight into my arms and I held her protectively against me, looking again at the man Barbossa was holding. That was when it clicked.

I recognized that hat. That beard used to be tentacles. Those hands used to be a claw and another tentacle. Those eyes, that face… that man was Jones.

My grip on Elizabeth tightened protectively. My heart raced within my chest. I made a mental note of Henry's exact location. He was close to me. Carina was beside me and he was right beside her. If he'd been younger I would have grabbed him and held him too, but I somehow didn't think a grown man would appreciate that especially in front of the girl he was courting.

I could have sworn my heart beat was getting louder and faster by the second. Fear grasped my entire being, but I was doing my best to hide it.

"Is that… really him?" Scrum stammered.

'Can't be, can it?" another crew member replied.

"It's not possible," another muttered.

"Who is he?" Carina whispered, well aware that everyone else seemed to recognize him, everyone expect her and Henry that was, and perhaps Philip as well.

"I'm suddenly not feeling so great about Jack being in that brig," Gibbs admitted nearby, softly enough that Barbossa wouldn't hear of course. No one wanted to anger Barbossa while he held Jones.

"Yes!" Barbossa yelled from the Dutchman, "It really be the "great" Captain Davy Jones in the flesh!"

"Davy Jones?" Henry gasped. "I'll kill him!" he yelled, removing his sword from it's sheath.

"Who even is he?" Jones asked loudly from the other ship.

"No one that concerns you!" I yelled. I didn't want Jones to know my son's identity. If he had it, he could use it against me. He could hurt Henry just to get to Elizabeth and I.

"Ah," Jones laughed, "William Turner, we meet again."

"Don't even think about touching my father!" Henry yelled. So much for keeping his identity secret.

Barbossa pulled on Jones' hair and he hollered in pain. "I be the boss round ere, if I say don't touch the man ye don't!"

"You don't know what it's like,' Jones spat, "To spend not only days, but weeks, months and years wondering the sea. A lost soul. A lost soul who can never reach the locker. And by no fault of yer own. But because of him!"

"Perhaps you can now emphasize with the millions of people you left to wonder the sea when you denied your duty and didn't ferry anyone to the locker during your time as Captain of the Dutchman!" I yelled.

"Didn't yer father ever teach you just because someone does something mean to someone else doesn't mean you should do it to them?" Jones yelled, laughing his evil tedious laugh as he continued, "Oh… wait that's right… your father never loved ya enough to spend the time teaching you anything."

It would taste a lie to say that didn't hurt. My father and I had spent time together on the Dutchman, but it didn't fully erase the pain caused by all the years growing up without him. I wondered if Henry ever felt the same way. My father made a choice not to spend time with me as a child, I didn't have a choice with Henry, but ultimately the same fact remained; we'd both grown up without a father. Nothing in the present could erase that awful fact.

"That be enough from you," Barbossa yelled facing Jones. He then turned to face his crew on the Dutchman. "Put 'im in the brig fer now!"

A few of the crew members immediately did as commanded.

"With Jack?" Henry yelled to Barbossa, worry overtaking his voice.

"No, not even I be that cruel ta Jack," Barbossa grinned, "Jack be in yer brig, Jones be in mine. Now, Turner ya ready yer ship. We got an evil manic to rid ourselves of."

"How exactly will be doing that?" Elizabeth asked.

"Ready yer ship and follow me lead without asking questions, that's how!"

I let go of Elizabeth and backed away to face what was now my crew. "Ready the sails!" I hollered. I wasn't about to go questioning a man who had just somehow managed to single handily capture Jones. I wondered exactly how he had done that.

Elizabeth turned towards me again and held my side. I instinctively held on to her as well. We remained that way until Jones was out of sight. She feared him perhaps even more than I did and that really did mean something.

I hoped Barbossa really did know what he was doing. The Pearl made ready to sail and we followed Barbossa's ship on what would in fact turn out to be a much longer journey than any of us at that point had expected.

* * *

A/N:

Thanks so much for reading! Sorry my updates are taking longer nowadays, but thank you all for sticking through it with me. :) Reviews are much appreciated as always, and to all our anon reviewers last chapter:

Butt-Kraken: Glad you liked it. We are awhile away from Henry being a big brother since baby isn't anywhere near ready to come out quite yet, but it'll happen. Thanks for your review!

Smithy: it's funny you mention a character becoming a big brother in his late 20s and how jealously isn't necessarily the general reaction cause that totally happened in my real life. My brother is actually 19 years 11 months younger than me so I almost feel like i can totally relate to Henry. But his reaction will be shown soon. Probably next chapter, but there's some other things that need to happen as well then so it may not be until the chapter following that one. Not sure yet. Thanks for reviewing again!


	16. Out of the Brig

Chapter 16: Out of the Brig

 **Elizabeth's POV:**

If I were to be completely honest with myself, the though of Davy Jones being on a ship so close to the one that my family and I were on was gut wrenching. We'd already learned from Shansa, through Henry, that Jones was capable of moving around from place to place without the physical barrier of the sea stopping him. The only consolidation was found in the fact that he was locked in the Dutchman's brig. My mind rested over the thought that he could surely not escape the brig. I was certain that Barbossa would have measures in place to prevent that. If there was one thing Barbossa had proved throughout the years I'd known him, it was the strength of his intelligence and his consistent ability to always be thinking a few steps ahead.

With those thoughts in mind, I tried to focus on happier things. I laid in my bed that first night after finding Jones with Barbossa, with Will beside me smiling. I thought I could rest at ease and felt rather safe. I gently leaned into Will, cuddling against him. He moaned in a pleasurable way. I could tell he was almost falling asleep himself.

I had noticed that when he had first come back from spending time on the Dutchman he had slept a lot less than he did now. I wondered if that had something to do with the consequences of ending his curse. As all the other curses of the sea seemed to have consequences from ending, it only made sense that Will would have to have some sort of consequence as well, didn't it? I wasn't sure. Perhaps it was simply his body adjusting from being immortal to being quite mortal. Then again did we really know that he was mortal? I wondered if there was a way to really know. I had merely assumed that ending his curse had made him mortal, but that night I began to wonder if it really had. I sighed. There was no use wondering these things. All would be revealed in time. For now it was best to assume he was mortal.

Will rolled over beside me on to his stomach and wrapped him arm across my body. I remember thinking to myself how close him arm was to touching my baby—our baby. I smiled thinking about how this child would grow up with his father. It was a feeling that brought so much joy inside of me. My smile growing, I closed my eyes and happily fell to sleep thinking of nothing else than our baby.

I awoke a few hours later startled. There had been a loud bang near by our room that had awoken me. It was followed by a short, but startled scream from Henry. I sat upright in bed. My mind immediately ran to Jones. I feared the worse.

"Will!" I said in a loud whisper. If Jones was after Henry I didn't want to be loud enough to tip him off to us knowing.

"I'm on it," he whispered back as he rose out of bed and grabbed his sword from its sheath beside our bed. Drawing his sword Will slowly opened our door and began to sneak out in a stealthy fashion. He turned back to me right before heading through the door. "Don't worry," he whispered, "He'll be fine, I'll see to it."

As a mother, I would worry. It took me all of a mere minute to decide that I had to follow him. I grabbed my own sword and also headed through our door as well.

My sword drawn in front of me I went through our door to find Henry, Will and none other than Jack all hidden in the corner below deck on the Pearl. I felt my eyes roll on impulse. There I was worried something serious was happening to my son and it was just Captain Jack Sparrow fooling around again.

Jack was seated on the floor cross legged with a bottle of rum in his right hand. Henry sat to his left, in a sort of relaxed fetal position, his back against the wall, with his legs bent out in front, his arms grasping around them. Will was on Jack's right side, not on the ground as they were, but he instead stood against the wall with one foot on the ground and the other leg bent at the knee with that foot up against the wall. His arms hung down in front and both his hands were holding his sword that was loosely dangling there, him clearly having no attention of using it.

"Jack, what are you doing?" I questioned, lowering my sword. I had left the sheath behind in the room otherwise I would have probably put my sword within it.

"Hello, luv," he said, eyeing me and giving his typical Jack smile—the kind he reserved for when he either wanted something or wanted a woman. I hoped in this case it was the first.

I felt my eyes narrow and frowned at his smile. "What do you want, Jack?"

"The real question is," he grinned again, "What do _you_ want, Elizabeth?"

Will glared at him while Henry eyed him frowning. Jack stopped grinning. "She comes out here with a sword," he explained, "She must want something."

"What I want," I answered through bared teeth, "Is to know that my son is safe… Particularly when I awaken to hear him scream."

Henry sighed. "It's nothing, mother. I was surprised is all. You can go back to bed."

I sighed. That was when I realized something. I made eye contact with Jack again. "How did you get out of the brig, anyway?"

Jack grinned once more and lifted a finger to the side of his head, tapping it twice. "Think like the whelp."

Both Henry and I looked at him confused. I noticed Will simply nodding and wondered why it was that he understood it.

"Have you ever known a jail cell to trap dear William?" Jack grinned.

Realizing what Jack was saying I smiled, but it was clear from his twisted lips and narrowing eyes that Henry still didn't.

"Leverage," Jack explained turning to Henry as he continued grinning, "A blacksmith knows that half barrel hinges can be easily removed by nothing more than simply applying the proper leverage."

Henry smiled.

"The real question is," Will interrupted as Jack turned from Henry to face him, "Why did you take so long to free yourself."

Jack shrugged, the mischievous grin finally leaving his face. "Figured Henry'd need some time to cool off before I approached him."

Henry smiled for a moment then his lips straightened as he starred dead in front of him. Slowly he spoke. "I suppose," he sighed, "Your plan did get us to Barbossa quicker than we could have gotten there ourselves."

Jack nodded. "Knew it would," he shrugged. He was so calm as he spoke it almost seemed odd to me. I had almost expected him to be bragging. Instead he almost seemed sorry. Though I had trouble believing he actually was, given the fact that he was Jack.

"And I suppose no one did get hurt," Henry continued, still refusing to look at Jack, his stare remaining directly ahead. He sighed heavily and looked to the ground. "And you did apologize."

That surprised me. Jack apologize? Those very two words didn't seem to go together at all.

Jack must have noticed the shocked expression on my face, that I'm sure I must have had, as he glanced my way and nodded with his eyes, grinning again for a moment before the serious look once again returned to his face. "Odd, ain't it?" he said to me, the one side of his lip raising.

"Indeed," I replied, coldly.

Henry sighed again. He looked up, his eyes meeting mine directly. "While he may be a pirate, he is a good man. I've got this from here, mother, father," he said looking from myself to Will, "You can go."

I nodded. A part of me wanted to stay with him, still not fully trusting Jack, but he was an adult and as such if he wanted time alone with Jack I figured maybe I should let him have it. While Jack could be a complete and utter fool at times I doubted he would ever really put my son in harms way. And what could he really do on a ship where there was always someone nearby to hear my son's screams? That didn't mean I wasn't hesitant to leave them alone though.

Will put his foot that had been leaning against the ship's wall down and walked forward from the wall towards where I'd been standing. Looking at Jack he made one last remark before placing an arm around my back and escorting me back to our room. "You hurt him, remove his necklace, anything," he warned, his sword remaining down, but his narrowed eyes and clenched teeth saying more than a sword ever could, "I'll make sure you regret it."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Jack replied, "Would have to be a fool to cross a Turner. They're bloody insane they is!"

I grinned at his remark though I made sure to be looking away from him as I did, so not to let him see. Will and I slowly made our way back to our room, his arm around me. Once we'd arrived inside, as Will closed our door, I put my sword away in it's sheath beside our bed on the small table there.

"You don't think Jack will harm him do you?" I asked.

Will shook his head. "I overheard his apology to Henry," he answered as he walked to grab his own sword's sheath and put it away as well, "He sounded sincere in it. Maybe sometime with Alva in the brig, now knowing what she really is, gave him some time to think after all."

I bit my lip. "If Jack's out, does that mean Alva's out as well?"

Will sighed. "I would hope even Jack isn't that daft."

"Once men know that she's a selkie can they still fall for her?"

"Only if they choose to. Her spell looses it's forcing power, but there is always the option to let yourself forget."

I nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "You knew her from before she was ever aboard the Pearl with Jack?"

Will nodded, sitting down beside me.

"Was that because you once fell under her spell as well?"

Will laughed, shaking his head. "I knew her from ferrying her victims to the locker. Before all curses were lifted selkies didn't just make men fall in love with them. They would make a man fall in love with them then once he reached a point where he could no longer stand to live without her, the selkie would jump back into the sea one night vanishing, shedding her human skin to return back to her seal-like form. The man would then begin to contemplate killing himself, drowning in the sea, no longer able to face life without the woman he loved. It was all part of the selkie spell. Then one night as he mourned for his former love, the selkie would appear in the water to him as her human self. He would then jump in after her only to find her not really there, but the seal version of her instead, which of course he would not know was her at all. The selkie then killed her victim, drowning him and it would be my job to ferry him to the locker while she waited with his soul, only to see his look of anguish upon realizing what had happened to him and that his love was never really real or returned."

I shook my head not believing what I was hearing. I blinked slowly. "That's just awful."

Will nodded. "A terrible fate."

"Perhaps all curses being broken wasn't necessarily a bad thing after all."

Will slowly nodded.

"It would almost seem," I continued, "That the only one really affected was indeed Philip."

Will sat silent for a moment before he spoke again, starring ahead, motionless. "We don't know that."

"But we can assume..."

He cut me off before I got a chance to finish explaining. "And even if it did only affect them," he continued, "We cannot justify our happiness at the expense of theirs. We have to find another way—a way where everyone wins."

I nodded. He was right. I paused for a moment before speaking then replied. "Except maybe, Alva. I don't think it would really hurt if she didn't win," I shrugged.

"Would be nice to see her back in her seal-skin though," he shrugged, "Right now she can't kill anyone, yes, but she still has the power to ruin relationships by making men fall in love with her instead of staying true to their real love."

I nodded. "Indeed."

Will moved closer to me on the bed and gently used his hand to place my head against his shoulder. He then wrapped his arm around my back, holding me close. I smiled. There was nothing more pleasant than being so close to him after spending so many years apart. I would never tire of his presence.

Will cleared his throat. "What exactly did you say to Philip today before Barbossa returned with Jones?" he asked.

I felt my jaw clench. Here I thought Will was trying to make a romantic gesture, while now it seemed that he was only holding me close in order to calm me before trying to gain information.

"It was better we spoke one on one,'' I said, avoiding his literal question while answering the one I was certain he was thinking, but not verbalizing.

I felt his arm that had been wrapped around my back stiffen. I kept my head on his shoulder, though a part of me wanted to pull away. We were too old to be fighting over silly things like this. I would not let this affect our relationship.

"It was more personal and less intimidating that way," I continued, pretending not to notice him stiffen, "I didn't think he'd want to be consoled about loosing his love by a couple who were in love. I know I wouldn't."

"That may be true," he acknowledged, plainly. "What I asked though," he continued as he pulled his body away from mine, creating space between us on the bed, "Was what you talked about, not why."

I couldn't look at him, not when he was angry enough to pull away from me like that. I was ashamed. Here I thought he was looking for an explanation for me leaving him out of an earlier conversation, and maybe he silently was, but maybe he really was just interested to know what we'd spoken about. What mattered though wasn't that so much that, as much as the fact that Will and I were now fighting. Yet, a part of me was still too stubborn to apologize.

"I simply told him I knew what it was like to loose a love," I explained, all the while refusing to make eye contact with him.

Will sighed beside me and was silent for a moment.

Finally, he spoke, "Even the situations that seem the most hopeless can be rectified."

I nodded silently.

"If a curse like ours can be broken, surely a curse can be re-created to bring Syrena and Philip together."

It was as he said that that I realized that maybe we weren't fighting at all. Perhaps he had only pulled away out of guilt? It was no secret to us that our happiness was bought at the expense of Philip and Syrena's.

"I didn't tell him that we're the reason why he can no longer be with Syrena," I admitted to Will, wondering if perhaps that was why he was so concerned with the content of my conversation with Phillip.

"I know," he admitted.

"Know?" I asked.

"I know you Elizabeth, better than perhaps you'd like to admit. You didn't just not have me join you and Philip this morning to spare him having to be around two people in love. You didn't want me joining because you feel guilty…"

He was right. I hadn't perhaps admitted it to myself before then, but deep down I knew he was right.

"In part I feel guilty as well," he admitted, "And the only way I can find peace is by knowing we have to rectify this. Henry may not have known that he would ruin someone else's happiness when he freed me from my curse, thus securing ours, but that doesn't mean we can just let them suffer and not do anything. That's why we have to find the son of Poseidon after we rid ourselves of Jones once and for all. Even if the world may be a better place with less curses in it, one persons happiness does not outweigh another. I will not have my own happiness at the expense of Philip's. We will find a way that we can all be happy. I won't rest until we have."

My heart sped up within my chest hearing him talk like that. His humility and loyalty to others played a big part in why I fell in love with him in the first place.

"We'll find a way," I said, moving back beside him, closing the space between us on the bed once more. "Together," I added. I looked into his eyes and smiled as I grabbed his hand within my own. If he wasn't resting until we found a way for Philip and Syrena to be together, that meant I wasn't resting either (not that I was opposed to that idea anyway). Wherever he went I would now go as well. There was no more "just Will" or "just Elizabeth." Now there would only be "Will and Elizabeth."

Suddenly, our tender moment was disturbed by our son who came barging through our door. "Mother! Father!" Henry yelled.

"I told you to knock first!" Jack reprimanded, barging in behind him, "What if they'd been naked or something?"

Henry paused for a moment then looking at Jack tilted his head while his face scrunched.

"Don't tell me mommy hasn't taught you about the birds and the bees," Jack sighed heavily. Then turning to me he added, "You, Elizabeth, have failed your job as a mother."

"Jack!" Henry reprimanded, angrily, "My mother happens to be the best mother a son could have asked for."

I smiled. The best part of his statement was knowing he truly did mean it.

Jack stood for a moment nodding to himself as his eyes wandered, clearly contemplating something. Then with one final nod he looked forward again to face Henry. "You know it does make sense once you think about it," he remarked, "Don't really recall me mother teaching me about the birds and the bees either. Seems to me that's more something one learns elsewhere, isn't it? Mothers tend to want more for their sons and all than whores or so it would seem now wouldn't it?"

"Are you calling Carina a whore?" Henry accused.

"No," Jack denied.

"Ah," Henry nodded.

"But now Henry," Jack continued, "As you have spent most of your life without parents… or rather without two parents together at the same time… you should probably know… mommies and daddies like to do things to each other that believe me mate, you do not want to witness. Things that you in fact should be doing with Carina..."

"Jack!" I reprimanded, having had quite enough of that. The entire conversation that was occurring was beginning to make me feel rather uncomfortable.

"When you're married!" Jack continued. "Or at least that's what we tell our mommies," he said, nudging Henry, "Ain't it?"

Henry looked at Jack once more with a scrunched face then coming to his senses he shook his head. "For the sake of Carina's honor as well as my own..," he began.

"Yes, yes," Jack said, tiring, waving him off. "Of course say whatever it takes to please mommy, we know what you're really..."

"I mean every word of it," he argued, "It has nothing to do with pleasing my mother."

Jack shook his head. "You poor, poor brainwashed soul."

"How do you feel about the Dutchman's brig?" I asked, looking at Jack, stopping that ridiculous behavior. I wouldn't truly have put him in there, not with Jones in it as well. I wasn't that cruel. Deep down inside I suppose I didn't really hate Jack, though he really did have a way of getting under my skin.

Henry stopped me before Jack could even protest. "Mother, Jack is a good man," he argued. He paused for a moment, looking at me to likely judge my reaction and swallowed hard before continuing. "As well as my friend."

Jack nodded in agreement.

"He may be little… odd… at times," Henry continued, "But he's helped all of us a great deal in the past."

Jack continued nodding. Making eye contact with Will he whispered, "I like him," as he pointed to my son.

"And while he may have made a rash choice throwing Carina overboard, it did help us find Barbossa and no one was indeed harmed in the process."

Still nodding, Jack whispered again, "Listen to the Eunuch-Spawn."

"And he knows of a way to rid me of this necklace," he said, pulling the cursed necklace from under his shirt.

A part of me instantly panicked seeing him grab hold of the necklace that his very life hung to and holding it out in the open. It seemed like such a dangerous gesture. I couldn't handle it. Before I got a chance to say anything though, he put the necklace back underneath his shirt and continued his speech.

"Which is why I think we should grant Jack full pardon."

Jack of course continued nodding, even more vigorously than before.

"Have you run this by Carina and Bootstrap?" I asked.

I knew the answer before either of them spoke. Jack immediately stopped nodding and frowned. Henry bit his lip, his gaze moving to the floor.

"You know," Jack said, waving a finger towards Henry, "If the girl really loved you, I think she'd respect your decision!"

"I need to talk to her," Henry admitted.

"I'll see meself back to the brig," Jack sighed, tossing his hands up in the air in defeat, "But if you think I'm going to be staying in there for long… well that's where you're wrong."

"Then why are you even going in there?" Henry asked.

"So after you talk to your lass you can make it seem like she actually had some say in whether I wondered free or not. I'm doing this for you, mate."

I immediately figured that was a lie. How often did Jack do anything for just someone else? Then I remembered Jones. Once Jones killed Will, Jack could have easily stabbed the heart himself, but he didn't. That was the one time he had thought of someone else first and strangely it seemed like the only time it really mattered.

"Plus," Jack sighed, "Alva'll be lonely by now."

Henry sighed. "Don't tell me you've fallen in love with her again, Jack."

"No, no, no," Jack protested, waving his finger at Henry again, "Captain Jack Sparrow does not fall in love, especially now that he knows the girl's a selkie… kind of ruins the whole romance thing knowing I'm suppose to die at the end of it and all… No, this time Captain Jack just needs some female company and this ship seems to be terribly lacking in un-taken ladies… Alva tried to use me once, now I'm using her!"

Henry shook his head. "A simple no would have sufficed."

With that, the two of them turned to walk out our door.

"Henry!" I called, before he could go, "Wait, there's something your father and I have been meaning to tell you."

Will looked towards me in a way with uncertainty in his eyes. I subtly nodded. I knew he knew exactly what I planned to tell Henry. I also knew that he was very worried about Henry's reaction, but I certain he had no real reason to be. Henry would be fine. I suspected he'd even be very happy for us.

I was a little surprised at first to see not only Henry, but also Jack stop and turn to face me.

"There's something we've been meaning to tell _Henry_ ," I said, hoping Jack would take the hint.

He did and turned to leave again. "Good cause I didn't want anything to do with your ridiculous affairs anyway," he shrugged, "I've got a girl waiting."

I rolled my eyes. "You've got a seal waiting."

"She's in woman form now," he shrugged.

"She's still a seal."

"Don't put it like that," he whined, "You're going to ruin it."

"Jack?" Will said, stopping our pointless conversation.

"Oi?"

"Leave," Will said and we all knew it was not simply a suggestion.

With that Jack finally did go and Henry closed the door behind him.

"What's going on?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"Does Jack really know a way to free you from that necklace?" Will asked, before I could answer.

I wasn't sure if he was stalling telling Henry about the baby or not. I too was very curious about the necklace though and decided that was a conversation worth pursuing anyway. Though I did question whether Jack was really being honest or simply hoping to gain something for himself out of the whole thing… like pardon for what he did to Carina or Henry's trust.

"That's what he said!" Henry exclaimed, smiling.

"Did he tell you what it was?" I asked, "How to go about doing it?"

Henry shook his head. The skeptical part of me wonder if Jack really did know anything at all.

"He said he'll give me more details after we rid ourselves of Jones forever," Henry explained.

I hoped Jack was being honest. I was also beginning to notice just how fond of Jack Henry was becoming and wondered if that meant that in the end my son was going to end up hurt.

"That's great news, son," Will smiled as he stood and walked over to Henry, hugging him.

I watched Henry's smile grow as he returned his father's hug and smiled to myself realizing how long I'd gone worrying that such a moment would never have a chance to occur.

"What was it you wanted to tell me?" Henry asked after his hug with his father naturally broke off, casually looking from his father to me.

"Come sit," I said, patting a spot beside me on the bed.

He did so and Will joined us as well on Henry's other side.

"We wanted you to be the first to know," I explained, "Before I start showing."

I smiled, meeting my son's eyes, hoping he'd react the way I expected, silently praying Will's worries were all for naught.

"Henry," I continued, "You're father and I are having another baby. You're going to be a big brother."

* * *

A/N:

Yay another chapter, but im sure nobody is loving that cliffie i did... lol

Anyway, im getting more into my new work schedule now and soon hope to return to weekly updates instead of these long waits between chapters. Its just been a big adjustment phase going from working one job to a completely different job setting etc.

Smithy - no vacation, just total life change job wise. interesting to hear about dante but i dont think henry's reaction will play out quite like that... i wont say anything more though as i dont want to spoil anythiing ;) Thanks for reviewing again

ButtKraken- aw im glad youre still loving this just as much as ever :) Glad Jones sounded in character and everything too, he'll be back soon Thanks for reviewing!


	17. Baby Talk

Chapter 17: Baby Talk

 **Will's POV** :

"Come sit," Elizabeth had said to my son. I knew exactly what she was planning on telling him and I greatly hoped that my fears of his reaction were no more than fears and would not become a reality.

"We wanted you to be the first to know, before I started showing," Elizabeth continued. This was it. The moment was inevitable, but worrisome for me. Elizabeth had previously tried to reassure me it would be fine. I hoped she was right. It was undeniable that she did know Henry better than I did. She had spent far more time with him growing up.

Elizabeth smiled as she looked our son in the eyes. I looked at him as well, hoping to gauge his reaction. "Henry," she said, warmly, "Your father and I are having another baby. You're going to be a big brother."

I watched as a look of shock at first overtook my son's face. My worries grew, but then I did suppose that the news of hearing about one's parents procreating again twenty years after their first child would shock anyone. Henry's expression quickly changed from shock to a warm smile and I watched as his eyes met his mothers with a look of both admiration and love.

"That's great new, mother," he smiled.

"You're alright with this then?" Elizabeth asked.

"How could I not be happy for you, mother?" Henry replied, as he affectionately placed a hand on her leg.

Elizabeth reached forward to hug him and Henry of course hugged her in return. I sat nearby for the first time since my return, silently realizing how Elizabeth and Henry really did have a stronger bond than I could perhaps ever hope to have with my son. It was clear that he adored her and she him. It wasn't that I doubted my son's love or adoration for myself, but I knew we didn't have that closeness he had with her. As the two of them hugged I couldn't help yet feel as though for a brief moment neither of them noticed I was even there.

"I should go," Henry explained, as their hug broke apart, "This is the first time Carina's really had a chance to be with her father since she learned he was her father and I want to make sure she's handling it alright."

I was impressed to see how much he cared about her. How could either Elizabeth or I say no to that?

Elizabeth silently nodded, still smiling and Henry quietly rose from his spot on the bed and turned to head out our bedroom door. He walked towards the door without saying a word, but then unexpectedly turned around right before he reached our door.

"I suppose we now have more reason than ever to make sure father doesn't end up re-cursed when we do find Poseidon's son," Henry said, turning, "This new child shall grow up with a father. I'll fight to assure it."

"Aye!" I agreed, "I won't have either of my children loosing their father again, son."

Henry smiled and nodded as he turned and this time really did head out of our room to find Carina.

I hoped my last statement had silently reassured him that I wouldn't be forgetting about him just because there was a new child now entering the picture. My oldest boy would always matter. He would always hold a place in my heart that no other child could take away. Even though I hadn't had a chance to bond with him during his childhood the way Elizabeth had, I had bonded with him in small ways since returning and I would make it my goal from that day forward that I would continue to bond with my son more and more each day. I would strive to have as strong of a relationship with my boy as his mother had with him and I would not stop until I did.

Later that day, I found myself above deck leaning over the side rail starring out to the sea.

"Most times I found you doing that was cause you were thinking about Elizabeth," a familiar voice greeted from behind me.

"Father!" I shouted, surprised to see him there. I instantly turned to embrace the man I'd come to know and love. We had spent countless days and nights together aboard the Dutchman and had grown rather close during our time together. "You're here aboard the Pearl!" I exclaimed, still not quite believing my eyes.

"Aye, couldn't leave the Dutchman when it be about to head out on an adventure involving my son." Frowning he continued, "I made that mistake once, wasn't about to make it again."

I frowned as well knowing he meant how he'd abandoned me as a child. While we were close now, our past still remained one of deep scars. Just because I loved my father now, didn't mean it was easy to forget what it'd been like to grow up an orphan by his own doing, but I tried not to hold it against him.

I immediately thought of Henry and wondered if growing up without a father would always haunt him as well. It was then that I realized something involving Henry. I had always wished my father could meet my son ever since the first day I'd met him when he'd been a young, nine year old boy. I had always thought it impossible though as my son was alive and my father was not. Now they could finally have the chance though.

"Father, there's someone I want you to meet!" I exclaimed, "Aboard this ship!"

"Your son?" he asked, calmly. My father always seemed so calm about everything, sometimes it almost irritated me.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, excited at the chance for them to meet, "Henry! He's here! You'll love him father, I'm sure of it!" I turned to head to find Henry, but my father put out an arm to stop me.

"Not yet, William," he urged.

"Why not?" I asked, confused.

Why did my father not want to meet my son? "First there's other things we must discuss," he explained, "Things I don't think ye be wanting your boy knowing." I instantly feared the worst.

"What sort of things?" I asked.

"Jones."

"He's aboard the Dutchman," I stated, matter-of-factly, "In the brig."

"Aye, but it not be his location that's the problem so much as what he be saying."

I felt my jaw clench. "What is he's saying?" I asked, wondering if I even wanted to know the answer, but if my father was making a point of telling me it had to be important.

"How you neglected to bring him to the locker."

I felt my heart momentarily stop within me. Then fear was replaced with anger. Of course Jones would let my secret out. I was a fool to think that wouldn't come back to haunt me.

"Do they believe him?" I asked.

"He made a good argument," my father replied, "Said the ship is only cursed with barnacles and such if it doesn't preform it's duty. The barnacles did start appearing after we began to ferry all the souls from that battle. If one soul was missed that day it would explain that."

I sighed, not knowing how else to respond.

"The crew aren't too thrilled with ya, William."

Sighing again I shook my head. "They have the right to be upset. A Captain's job is to do his duty, even the hard parts. I passed on a part of my duty and it cursed my crew. Now my family's lives are in danger because of it and my son's life is tied to a cursed necklace because of it as well."

"I don't know what I would 'ave done had I been in your position, William," my father, sighed, "But I imagine the decision to leave Jones was not an easy one."

I shook my head, angered. "I messed up. No excuses. I messed up completely. And now I must accept the consequences of my actions. The Dutchman crew has the right to be angry with me. My son has the right to be angry with me and should be as should Elizabeth, everyone should. I put my own selfish desires in front of anyone else's and..."

"Aye boy," my father said, cutting me off, placing a hand on my shoulder affectionately, "Ye be only human. We all make plently of mistakes in this life. I should know that more than anyone..."

"But your poor decisions never put anyone in danger," I argued, shrugging his hand from my shoulder. My father paused for a moment.

"Ya didn't do it intentionally, William. Your family 'ave they forgiven you?"

"Elizabeth doesn't know."

He nodded in understanding. "She will—forgive ya that is. Best be making sure she finds out from ya though and not a crew member from the Dutchman."

I nodded. He was right.

"And your boy?"

"He's barely a boy anymore now," I answered, smiling at just the thought of my son, "You'll love him, father."

"Does he know, about Jones though?"

I nodded. "He seems to have been able to look past my wrongdoings."

"Aye," my father smiled, "Get's that from you, he does. Somehow, despite my abandonment you forgave me. If you can forgive that, it'd only make sense that your own child would be able to forgive your one lapse in judgment."

I nodded, though I wasn't sure that was it entirely. Did he get that from me or had he simply been taught it by Elizabeth?

"The crew will forgive ya as well," my father encouraged, "Just give 'em time. But for right now I wouldn't be going on the Dutchman if I were you."

"The only man I'd greatly care to see on the Dutchman," I argued, "Is standing beside me right now, anyhow."

My father smiled. "Now, I believe you said I have a grandson I've yet to meet?"

I smiled and began to lead him to the spot on deck where Henry and Carina sat talking with their backs towards us. As we approached it was impossible not to hear a bit of their conversation.

"It's like I'd spent my whole life," Carina sighed, "Imagining such a moment would never be possible and now here my father is in the flesh (well sort of), but he barely acknowledges me!"

"I know what you mean," Henry sighed.

"No, you don't!" Carina protested, "Your father acknowledges you all the time. Heck, he barely stops acknowledging you, every time I turn around it's like the two of you are together."

"I meant I know what it's like to have things not turn out the way you expected," Henry explained.

My own father and I stopped walking before we got any closer. A part of me knew the right thing to do would be to make our presence clear instead of eavesdropping, but another part of me wanted to know what my son meant by "things not turning out the way he expected."

"What you expected your father to ignore you?" Carina sarcastically remarked, "And now your complaining about that?"

"I meant the fact that instead of spending time at home with my family we're instead going with undead-dead pirates to Davy Jones' locker with a selkie and Davy Jones in the big," Henry sighed, "But give it time and I imagine my father will be ignoring me as well."

"What do you mean?" Carina asked.

"They're having another baby," he sighed again, "They probably always wanted to raise a child together and I didn't give them that chance. Now they're having a do-over."

I could barely believe my ears. I should have known his happiness about the baby was only an act to please his mother, yet again how could I? I barely knew my son.

"I am happy for them," Henry admitted, "My mothers always wanted a second child, I've suspected that for sometime now. But I guess it never hit me what that would mean exactly."

"What does it mean exactly?" Carina asked.

"You know I was an accident?" Henry asked, not answering her question at all.

"Your parents told you that?" she questioned.

"No, but it was rather obvious," Henry shrugged, "My father didn't even know I existed until I was nine years old. If they'd planned on having me he would have known, or at least suspected."

"But that doesn't mean they don't love you," Carina said, reassuringly.

"No," Henry agreed, "But it does mean they never planned to have a child that was raised without my father. They wanted to raise a child together. Now they'll have that chance. The new child will grow up with a father consistently present. And my father will naturally love it in a way he could never love the son he barely knows."

Carina paused to think before replying "I think that your father does love you, even if he barely knows you. I think the amount of time he's been spending with you shows it. Mine on the other hand, could care less."

"Maybe he doesn't know how to love you?" Henry suggested, "He did die to save you. That's got to be love, doesn't it?"

Carina paused for a moment then nodded. "I wish there was a way I could just talk to him and find out what he's really thinking."

"Why don't you?" he encouraged, "At this point you're not talking anyway, what have you got to loose?"

Carina paused again for a moment and then grinned. "I'll make you a deal, Henry," she proposed, "I'll talk to my father, if you'll talk to your parents about your fears with this new baby."

Henry shook his head. "I couldn't do that. My mother's far too excited for the new baby. I wouldn't want to ruin her joy at the idea of raising a child with her husband. My parents are getting a second chance at what they always wanted. Once the baby's born I'll just slip into the background and watch as that child's relationship with my father grows and grows in a way I'll never have a chance."

"Henry..." Carina pleaded.

"It was never his fault we never had a relationship. Why fix a broken relationship when you can just get a new one?"

I hadn't even noticed that my father had left, until I turned to whisper that it was clearly not a good time for him to meet my son and they could meet later instead. I suppose he had taken the hint from whatever he had already heard. I could not believe what I was hearing myself. This new baby was not a do-over.

"I don't think that's what their trying to do, Henry," Carina tried to reassure him.

Henry sighed.

I could stay silent no longer. "That's definitely not what we're trying to do, son," I said.

Both Carina and Henry turned upon hearing my voice. Henry quickly looked downwards, frowning as he blushed. Carina didn't hesitate to look my way at all. She smiled at me then turned to face Henry who still was refusing to make eye contact with anyone or anything other than the floorboards. "I'll leave you two to talk," she said, gently placing a hand on Henry's shoulder momentarily. Then removing her hand, she proudly remarked, "I have to speak with my own father," standing and with that she left us alone.

Silently, I sat down beside my son who still refused to make eye contact. I swallowed wondering exactly what I could say to reassure him.

"You know I love you, son," I said, meaning every word.

"Yes," he said, with no hint of emotion, his stare still remaining downwards.

"I'm sorry we never had a chance to be together when you were younger."

He didn't say anything, but I noticed him grind his teeth at that.

"You-" I began before I was cut off by the last thing I'd imagined possible.

"Ah-ha!" Davy Jones screamed, coming out of nowhere to grab my son from beside me as he dragged him towards the middle of the Pearl.

"Henry!" I heard Carina yell from behind us, close to the bow of the pearl. The Pearl was directly following the Dutchman, in fact that two ships were even attached with ropes tying them together and a plank was placed between the two for easy access across. I assumed she had been heading towards the Dutchman when she ran across Jones who now had my son.

Carina began towards us as many crew members from both ships turned to watch the scene unfold.

"Why be the prisoner out of the brig!?" Barbossa hollered, quickly making his way from the Dutchman towards Jones on the Pearl.

Jones grinned. "Ya know what's worse than separating two people in love by killing one?" he bellowed, lifting a sword to Henry's throat, as he firmly held him towards his chest with his other hand. "Killing their son," Jones laughed again.

"Help," Henry muttered, barely able to speak as Jones pressed the sword closer to his throat.

As if on cue Jack ran up from below deck. Apparently, his fun with Alva was done for the day.

"Nope!" Jack yelled.

"What do ya mean nope?" Jones argued, "I don't have a heart for you to stab this time Jack Sparrow!"

"Captain!" Jack yelled, "Captain Jack Sparrow!"

"Unhand him!" I yelled, drawing my sword to face Jones.

"Sorry, but no," Jones remarked, his upper lip curling as he spoke.

"Please!" Elizabeth yelled, running towards us, "Whatever you want you can have, just not my son."

"But you see that's why I want him," Jones laughed, "He's the one thing you're not willing to part with."

"No!" Jack yelled again, lifting a sword towards Jones, "Stab him and die!"

Jones laughed. "I'm already dead."

Jack paused for a moment and frowned.

"If you touch him I can personally guarantee," I said, walking so my sword was inches away from Jones, "That your afterlife will be..."

"Stop!" Jack argued, "You're not even dead anymore, no one's going to believe you have any say in his afterlife."

"Agreed!" Jones yelled, and before I could do anything to stop it I watched in horror as he drew back his sword then quickly stabbed it towards Henry's chest at full force.

"No!" Elizabeth yelled, as she began to cry.

"Henry! No!" Carina yelled at the same time. She wasn't crying like Elizabeth was, but her worry was written all over her face.

"Henry!" I screamed as well.

The sword hit Henry's chest with an unexpected clang that almost sounded like the sword had hit metal.

"What?" Jones asked, pulling his sword back.

"The necklace," Carina sighed.

"Then I suppose we'll just hit lower," Jones grinned, as he withdrew his sword back to gain force to stab again.

"Nope!" Jack yelled, waving his sword in a swift upward motion from his chest to above his head. As he did so I watched in awe, along with everyone else as the ropes that were holding up the sails let loose and grabbed Jones, causing him to drop his sword and Henry in the process. Wrapping around his body they pulled him to lift him in the air and tied him to the mast.

Henry was dropped to the ground in the process, safe. Carina instantly ran towards him and helped him sit up then hugged him as the two of them stayed kneeling on the ship's floor.

"Now!" Jack exclaimed, acting as though nothing had happened while Jones was now hanging far above us all. "As I have once again saved a Turner's life, and not just any Turner this time, but the one your daughter, Hector, has a thing with, perhaps we shalln't be putting me in the brig again, shall we?"

Barbossa rolled his eyes.

"Where'd you get that sword?" Carina asked, "How did it do that?"

"The problem with you," Jack said, putting his sword back in it's sheath, "Is that you keep seeing all these superstitious things happen and yet still refuse to believe in superstitions."

"I think I believe now, Jack," she remarked, sarcastically.

Jack shook his head. "See that's just it, you still don't know, you just think that perhaps maybe possibly ghost are real, swords can control the wind and ropes and ships… maybe."

"I be wanting my sword back now," Barbossa ordered.

"Not yours," Jack argued, "You died and left it on the Pearl. I found it, now it's mine."

"I left it for safe keeping," Barbossa protested.

"You left it to die."

"I didn't plan on dying," he argued.

"But you did, so now it's mine."

"Give me the sword and I'll spare you from the brig," Barbossa bargained.

"Let me keep the sword and spare me the brig and I'll spare you from joining our friend on the mast," Jack said, looking up at Jones who was still hanging there.

Barbossa frowned and let out a low sort of growl.

"You stole the sword from Blackbeard, I stole it from you," Jack shrugged, "Pirates way."

Barbossa turned around in defeat and walked back towards the Dutchman.

"Blackbeard's sword," Henry said, standing, then lending a hand to help Carina up as well. "The one that controls the winds?"

Jack shrugged. "Well either that or it's a mere coincidence the ropes just so happened to grab Jones at the exact time I lifted this totally normal sword."

Carina rolled her eyes as she clenched her jaw.

Henry, on the other hand, shrugged off Jack's comment completely. "Thank you, Jack," he said, sincerely, "For saving my life."

Jack shrugged. "Was really the necklace what saved yer life, mate. Maybe the cursed thing ain't so cursed after all, aye? I just wanted to see Jones up in the air."

"Right," Henry said, clearly not believing Jack's excuse.

"Anyway," Jack said, waving his arms in the air, "I am very short on rum right now and that is never a good thing." He then walked towards the stairway to below deck which we all knew was where the rum was stored.

"I may not particularly like your so called friends," Carina shrugged, "But at least they do save your life occasionally."

Henry laughed.

Elizabeth and I both walked to join them while the rest of the crew went on with their former business. "Henry!" Elizabeth yelled as she hugged him through tears.

"Mother it's fine," he said, returning her hug, "I'm fine."

She pulled away, still crying a little. "I would have died if I'd lost another person I loved to that man."

"But you didn't," Henry said, "Everything's alright."

"Henry," I said, pulling him into a hug as well.

"Father," he replied, returning my hug.

"We do need to talk about what happened before all this though," I said, as we broke apart.

"What?" Elizabeth asked, "What happened before?"

Henry sighed. "It's nothing to worry about, mother," he lied.

"No," I argued, "It is something to worry about."

"I'll give you a moment," Carina said, stepping aside.

"Thank you," I said, nodding as she walked away. I was really beginning to like her. "Henry," I said, facing my son once more, "This new baby isn't about us getting a second chance to raise a child the "proper" way."

"What?" Elizabeth asked, "Henry, I thought you were happy about the baby?"

"I am, mother," he argued, "I'm happy you and father will get a chance to raise a new baby together the way you always wanted and… if it makes you happy, I'm happy to step into the background so you can do so."

I shook my head.

"Henry," Elizabeth began to protest, but I cut her off before she had a chance to finish.

"It won't be like that, Henry," I stated, "I know I never got a chance to be a part of your childhood, the way both of us wanted, and that's something that unfortunately a new child will always have on you, but that doesn't mean our relationship has to stop growing. Henry, I will always have time for you."

I paused momentarily before continuing, making sure he had a chance to take in everything I said. "I love you son," I continued, "No baby will change that. I will always be a part of your life now, you can't get rid of me if you wanted to. We have years of lost time to make up for. The new child will have to accept that it has to share it's father with it's older brother, something it will be so accustomed to doing from birth I doubt it'd even question."

Henry nodded.

"Just because I'll be with this child from it's birth, doesn't mean I'll love it more than you," I explained.

"But your relationship with it will be different," Henry stated matter-of-factly.

I frowned. "Only based on our history together. You and I, we don't really have a history yet."

"No."

"But you're beginning to build one," Elizabeth chimed in.

"Aye," I said, wrapping my arm around my son's shoulder and squeezing it gently, "That we are."

Henry said nothing. I sighed, pulling away. "I know this new child and I will have a different history than you and I have, but trust me when I say it's not a "do-ever" especially not in the sense that our first wasn't good enough. It's not a second chance cause we've no need for a second chance when our firstborn turned out perfect. It's not about starting a new relationship instead of fixing an in-progress one. It's not about us getting a chance to raise a child together merely because we didn't get a chance before."

"You really were listening to Carina and I for awhile, weren't you?" he asked.

"I'm sorry for invading your privacy," I sighed, "I shouldn't have stood there so long without saying something. I'm new to this father thing. Truth is I never really had my own father as a part of my life until I was about your age anyway and even then, while I do treasure my relationship with him, I'd like us to be closer than I am with him."

I'd meant that entirely. My father was the type I'd keep secrets from. He was the type who would sometimes encourage me to do things I didn't want to do or see a need to do. He always meant well, but things like telling me to stop talking about Elizabeth because it didn't do any good never helped. I'd rather him just listen instead of trying to solve my problems sometimes. I didn't need a father who fixed things. I needed a father who heard me. My father really wasn't that for me and because of it, his attempts to fix things didn't really work. I didn't want that for Henry and I. I wanted to be a father who listened, one he wouldn't feel the need to keep secrets from for fear of my reaction.

"I suppose I can understand why you did eavesdrop so long," Henry replied, snapping me back into the present.

I shook my head. "What did I ever do to deserve a son as forgiving as you always are?"

Henry grinned. "Mother always said forgiveness was much more in your nature than hers. She can really hold a grudge sometimes, but she always told me I reminded her of you instead."

I lightly laughed under my breath. Of course Elizabeth would talk me up to our son, she'd only made me seem so much better than I was. If I was really good at forgiveness why hadn't I ferried Jones to the locker when I was suppose to?

"It's true," Elizabeth chimed in again, moving to sit down on Henry's other side. "In fact everything I just heard is true. We're not having a new baby as a second chance Henry. We don't need a second chance, we already scored perfectly on our first shot. We're only having another baby to add another member to our family, not to do any replacing."

Henry nodded. "I really am happy you for two, really. I just… I just got a chance to meet my father, I'm still only getting to know him, and the thought of a baby just… it makes me worry that will all end."

I shook my head. "It won't. I promise, son."

At that moment Elizabeth and I both pulled him into a big family embrace."I know words without actions mean nothing," I said, hugging the two of them, "But just watch, I've always been a man of my word and will continue to be so."

Henry smiled. "I'll hold you to it then."

I hoped he believed me. It was a little reassuring to know that Carina, who he confided it, seemed to believe that without me even having to tell her it as was evidenced by her encouragement to him in the part of their conversation I had overheard earlier. Even if Henry didn't believe me right way though, I would show him that I'd meant every word. New child or not, I vowed to still get to know my firstborn. I would never stop making up for lost time with him, never.

* * *

A/N:

Hello everyone! As much as I love all your lovely reviews my formatting messed up tonight and fixing it took forever. Alas, it's 4am and I need to sleep, but I'll post this now so you can all read it before I could realistically post it if I took the time to reply to everyone's reviews from last chapter. Please don't think that means I didn't super appreciate you all though.

Anyway, I hope you all liked how the talk of baby went between everybody, and yes there is a reason I threw Jones into the middle of it (other than the fact that no real action has occurred for quite a few chapter it feels like) but that will all make more sense as new chapters come out. Anyway, with DMTNT finally on DVD/Blurray I got a chance to watch it again and finally figured out big parts of this fanfic I was still working on fitting together. I'm hoping this will also help me update more frequently, but we'll see how RL goes too.

Thanks for reading :)


	18. Fathers and Conversations

A/N:

Firstly, let's not avoid acknowledging the fact that this is far overdue. I'm actually super sorry about that and want to thank anyone who has still stuck with me after the huge gap between updates there. Thank you for your patience. I don't really feel this is the place to get into why there was such a time gap, but… well… life… Regardless though, Magestic is back so without further adieu, let's continue!

* * *

Chapter 18: Fathers and Conversations

 **Will's POV:**

"TURNER!" Barbossa hollered as he crossed over on the wooden plank that allowed easy access from the Dutchman to the Pearl.

In unison Henry, Elizabeth, and I all stood up on the Pearl. Back on the Dutchman, my father walked across the wooden plank behind Barbossa.

"I'm over here, Cap'n," my father replied, correcting Barbossa. At the exact same time Henry responded with a "Yes?" Also at the same time, I replied with an "Aye!" while Elizabeth also in unison rolled her eyes and asked, "What?"

Barbossa frowned in response. "There be far too many Turners aboard these here ships," he sighed as he stopped walking.

"Who's the one on the Dutchman?" Henry asked.

I was excited for him to meet my father, but I also didn't feel like that was the right time. He had so many insecurities about this new baby and I didn't know if him seeing my somewhat messy relationship with my own father would only make that worst. I wanted my son to learn to fully trust me and as much as I did trust my father, to an extent I didn't. I wasn't sure if that was something that would be evident to Henry or not.

It wasn't that my father wasn't a good man, it was that he was still a pirate and could be rather selfish at times. I still wasn't sure if he would always put my wants or needs before his own. In fact, a part of me was still convinced that if he could go back and do it all over again, he still would have abandoned me as a child. It wasn't that I didn't love him—I did. It wasn't that I doubted whether or not he loved me—I knew he did. I just wasn't sure how far that love would stretch and I knew that I wanted better for my relationship with my own son. I wanted him, for example, to never have to question the depth of my love for him, the way that I did with my father's love.

"I need ta speak with, _William_ Turner" Barbossa continued, ignoring Henry's question, "The rest of ya do whatever ye want."

I saw my father nod from the Dutchman and, although I suspected I was the William Turner he was talking about, quickly realized Barbossa still wasn't being specific enough.

"Is he in trouble?" Henry asked as his eyes widened, his mouth gaping open a little. He probably didn't even know that there was a William Turner that came before me, yet alone the fact that the man was on the Dutchman.

"Concerns ye not, boy," Barbossa replied, making direct eye contact with me. I knew then it was definitely me he wanted, not my father.

"Turner!" Barbossa yelled again, walking closer to me once more. When he was almost directly in front of me he stopped. He was almost too close for comfort. "I made ye Cap'n of the Pearl, did I not?"

"That you did," I replied, wondering where he was going with this question.

"And as Cap'n," Barbossa spat as he began to slowly circle around me. Henry was still by my side from our talk moments ago and Elizabeth now stood by his other side which meant that in order to circle around me Barbossa also had to circle around them. I knew though that Elizabeth and Henry had nothing to do with whatever he was upset about. I could tell by the way he only made eye contact with me.

"And be it not part of yer duties as Cap'n," he continued, still circling, "Ta make sure that yer prisoners in the brig stay in the brig?"

My brain immediately went to Alva and worried that she'd somehow managed to escape the brig and caused some poor soul on the Dutchman to fall in love with her. Though I wasn't sure how exactly that would work since those on the Dutchman were already dead and the whole point of selkies falling in love with sailors in the first place was ultimately to kill them. I didn't think she would have bothered with any of the crew of the Pearl though. I figured they all already knew about her dangers though, did they not?

"Aye," I agreed, slightly worried about what Barbossa would say next, but being sure not to let my facial expression show it.

"Then why tell me, Cap'n Turner, have I been told that not only did ye know Jack Sparrow escaped, but ya in fact let 'im still continue to roam free after finding out 'bout 'is escape?"

"Father, really," Carina interrupted from the Dutchman as she too crossed over the plank to join us, "I told you this would not be necessary."

"But it tis necessary, Carina," Barbossa protested, turning from me to look at his daughter, "How can I except to control an armada if one of me Cap'ns be siding with one of me enemies."

"Father," she protested again, this time stepping between myself and Barbossa. "Mr. Turner is a good man. And in spite of his short comings, Jack did save Henry's life."

I didn't even bother to correct "Mr. Turner" to "Captain Turner." I wasn't like other captains in that sense, but that didn't mean I didn't notice. I didn't think she'd meant it offensively though. If she had of I probably would have corrected her then.

"That," I replied, sternly, "And I wouldn't exactly call this an armada." It was only two ships afterall.

"Ye best be remembering, William," Barbossa warned, "The whole point of this little adventure in the first place."

"If I do recall," I replied, "The prisoner that escaped from my brig was much less dangerous than the prisoner who escaped from your own."

"And if I do recall," he replied, moving forward again, making himself close enough so that no nearby onlookers could overhear, "The rumor mill be saying tis yer fault he be free to roam the seas instead of in the locker in the first place."

Not only did that hurt, but it came so unexpectedly that I'm sure my guilt was far too visible to him as well as my family and Carina who were all close enough to have overheard what had just been said.

"Will, what's he talking about?" Elizabeth asked.

"So it's true?" Carina asked, frowning.

It surprised me to see Henry come to my defense before I could figure out the words to say myself. "He didn't know the consequences that would result from leaving Jones," he argued.

"No," Barbossa agreed, turning to face Henry, then turning back to me, "But he's been a pirate long enough ta know all curses have consequences in the same way that not adhering to the rules of all curses have consequences."

I stood silent for a moment. I knew what I had to do, but I was a little hesitant to do it.

"He made a mistake," Carina protested towards Barbossa, "Surely you're not so perfect yourself."

I was honestly surprised to see her stand up to her father like that. I knew she wanted to get to really know him better and I didn't think saying something like that would help. I wasn't sure whether she had taken somewhat of a liking to me, if she was trying to impress Henry, or was just simply standing up for what she believed to be right.

The thing that surprised me even more though was Barbossa's reaction to her comment. For a moment he looked hurt. Then being a pirate and all, he returned back to his angry, fearful demeanor.

"The point be,ing" Barbossa continued, "Ye seem to be having quite a few lapses in judgment lately, Master Turner."

"It's _Captain_ Turner," I spat. _Him_ I would correct.

" _Captain_ Turner," Barbossa mocked before turning serious again, "The most recent of your judgment lapses being letting Jack roam free after 'e be trying to get my daughter killed. Which is naturally something I don't be taking well to."

"Jack only did it to help us find you," Henry argued.

Carina gasped. "And that's a good reason for him to put my life in danger?" she asked, eyeing Henry, angrily.

Henry blushed. "But Barbossa did show up."

"But there was no guarantee he would have," she argued.

Henry turned to face Barbossa directly. "Answer me this," he said to Barbossa, "If you knew Carina was going to drown would you not come to rescue her every time no matter how many times it happened?"

"Are ya honestly telling me yer taking Jack's side, boy?" Barbossa sneered.

"No," Henry shook his head, "I'm telling you something my father reaffirmed for me long ago. When his child is in danger, a good father immediately comes to that child's aid regardless of what he was previously doing, regardless of how broken his relationship may be with his child, because nothing matters more in that moment to the father than his child's survival.

Jack knew that and because he knew that, Carina's life was never in any real danger. He had faith in you, Barbossa. He knew you were a good father, the kind who would put his daughter's life of the highest importance. Jack knew you well enough to know that much about you and now it's up to you to teach Carina to know it as well."

At first Carina looked shocked, but then I saw her make eye contact with Henry in a way that clearly whispered a silent 'thank you' as she looked at him in pure adoration, smiling. He nodded softly, but quickly and smiled back at her. Then she uncomfortably turned to face her father again while Henry also turned back to face Barbossa, standing firm.

I was impressed with many of the things my son had said in his speech to Barbossa. Firstly, I was surprised that he didn't seem to fear Barbossa and hadn't appeared to be worried about speaking openly to him like that. I would never have had the courage to do that with Elizabeth's father when we were courting or even after we were married, and her father was just a governor not a fearsome pirate. Henry clearly inherited that kind of courage from Elizabeth—of the two of us, she was always the more likely to speak her mind.

I was also impressed though that knowing about Carina's struggles with getting to know her father, Henry had found a way to basically tell Barbossa he needed to spend time getting to know his daughter. I knew he hadn't done that for Barbossa's sake so much as for Carina's. He was the kind of man that I imagined if I'd had a daughter I would have wanted her to find a man like him—one who would stand up for her needs.

I wondered if I soon would have a daughter, thinking about the baby Elizabeth now carried, or perhaps it would be a second son. Either way I would be happy.

"Careful with yer faith in Jack, boy," Barbossa warned, "Remember he still be a pirate after all." With that he turned to head back towards the Dutchman and began walking away.

Carina frowned and sadly watched him walk away.

"Wait!" Henry yelled towards Barbossa.

Barbossa sighed and turned back to face him once more. "Ya really ought to learn yer place on a ship boy, and how to properly address your Cap'n," he sneered, "And that be not the way!"

"Then I won't address you as my Captain," Henry argued, "But as the father of someone I care deeply about, someone I..." He paused for a moment and took a swallowed before continuing. "Someone I love."

Barbossa looked Henry directly in the eyes and Henry swallowed hard, his eyes desperately trying to avoid meeting the pirates. He seemed to have suddenly lost the courage he had possessed mere minutes ago.

Barbossa walked forward, stopping only a foot infront of Henry. "Ye mean to be telling me yer in love with my daughter, boy?" Barbossa sneered again.

"Yes?" Henry asked, more than answered. He cleared his throat. "Yes," he stated this time, still trying to avoid making eye contact. He was standing so stiff it almost seemed unnatural.

"Father," Carina protested, moving closer to Barbossa as to take his attention off my son,"Henry is a good man."

Barbossa frowned for a moment and Elizabeth took a step towards him, looking as though she was ready to argue if he dared say anything to object with Carina's statement. Then grinning, Barbossa looked towards his daughter and nodded, "Aye that be true." With that he swiftly turned around again and once more began walking away.

Carina's mouth hung open, probably at the shock of her father turning to leave her once again even after all Henry had just said. Henry, having seen Barbossa turn around again, eased up once more. He frowned seeing Barbossa leaving so soon.

"Carina!" Barbossa yelled, turning his head towards us once more though not his body this time, "Meet me at the helm of the Dutchman tonight after sundown, there be stories of the stars that one can only learn from a pirate that I think ya'd be interested in hearing." Before even waiting for her reaction he turned again to leave and this time he actually did.

Carina smiled and seeing her smile, Henry did as well. She moved closer to Henry and softly swayed a little as her eyes met his own.

"Thank you, Henry."

Henry smile grew. "Now do you forgive me for siding with Jack?"

Carina chuckled softly. "No," she smiled, clearly not meaning it.

"Well perhaps then you can admit," Henry teased, "That I knew what I was doing all along."

Carina shook her head. "I don't think you did," she said, still smiling as she moved even closer towards him, leaving very little space between the two of them. "I think you were making that all up as you went along."

Henry shrugged and then laughed. "Maybe," he admitted, as he wrapped his arms around her side.

She moved her own arms upwards to wrap around his shoulders as her hands met at that back of his neck.

"Then I guess you just got lucky that it worked," she joked as she moved her lips up to meet his own.

I moved to Elizabeth's side and gently wrapped an arm around her. "Let's leave them be," I whispered quietly enough for them not to hear.

Smiling, she nodded and the two of us softly walked away.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Later that night, I got to experience my first taste of what women go through during pregnancy. Not first hand obviously, but I had no idea how overwhelming pregnancy could be for a woman.

"Trouble sleeping?" I asked, already knowing the answer. We were laying in bed together and Elizabeth had been tossing and turning nonstop for the past hour.

"I need to go to the bathroom again," she groaned, getting up for the second time that hour. I watched her get out of bed and walk to grab the chamber pot she had begun accustomed to keeping in our room after needing to use it multiple times per night recently.

Climbing back into bed after the deed was done she mumbled, "This is really nothing. With Henry I was up each morning at the crack of dawn sick to my stomach each morning. This baby's barely caused any morning sickness so far."

As she pulled the covers back over her I pulled her in close beside me.

"It'll only gets worse as it gets bigger," she informed, "Have you ever tried sleeping with a gigantic pillow on your belly, pushing on your bladder?"

"No," I answered.

"That's what pregnancy is like," she mumbled, closing her eyes, "Only it never stops. Not until the baby's out."

"The leg cramps might be the worst though," she continued, "Those won't start until it's bigger though."

"Are you in any pain now?" I asked. I had to admit I knew almost nothing about pregnancy.

"No," she sighed, her eyes still closed as she slowly began to fall asleep, "Just have trouble sleeping that's all… and always wake up feeling exhausted… my doctor with Henry told me that'd happen… it's because of everything my body had to undergo to make a baby… It's the hardest thing a woman can do."

She sighed, speaking softer as her tiredness grew, "That's what they told me then anyway, but now I'd have to disagree… growing a baby is hard work, but raising one is much harder…. Though I suppose that doctor never had a son like Henry… It wasn't that he wasn't a good son, he was… just he had his mother's longing for adventure and his father's determination… nothing was going to stand in the way of his finding that trident..."

She quietly rolled over on to her stomach. I was growing use to this now. She would lie on her back, then her stomach, then her side, then return to her back and start all over again.

"What's bothering you, darling?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said, but I could tell she was lying.

"How long 'til you'll be telling me the truth?" I asked, hoping to hide my frustration.

She rolled over on to her back again and starred at the ceiling. "Today," she began, "I watched Jones take my son and hold a sword to his throat and then attempt to stab it into his chest."

I sighed, knowing exactly where this was going. "Aye," I whispered, "But he didn't succeed."

"No, not today," she sighed, "But will he succeed next time?"

I shook my head. "No, Henry's a lot stronger than you give him credit for, Elizabeth and he's got a lot of allies on his side. Plus Jones is still hanging from the mast. Jack assured me the only way he can get free is if someone takes that sword Jack used to tie him up there and orders the ropes to free him. Jack's not one to give up something so powerful so easily. That and even if he did loose the sword somehow Jones is significantly lacking in allies, I doubt there's a soul aboard this ship that even slightly likes him. Those on the Dutchman hate him for the curse he brought upon them and the servitude he made them pay without option."

Elizabeth nodded, her eyes still fixed on the ceiling. "Is it true what Barbossa said, that Jones is only free to roam the seas because of you?"

I felt my stomach drop. Sighing, I opened my mouth to speak and then forced the words to come out. "Had I known the consequences I never would have done it. I didn't think Henry… I didn't even know Henry existed at that time… I didn't think anyone would have ever destroyed all curses thus allowing Jones to roam free. Until the curses were destroyed he was trapped exactly where he had laid dead."

"So you left him there?" she asked, turning to look at me finally, though I was too ashamed to look back at her now and turned my focus towards the ceiling.

"Where he died?" she continued, "Instead of ferrying him to the locker?"

"I was a coward," I admitted, weakly, turning to meet her eyes, "And couldn't bare to face him."

"I understand," she said, and then turned back on her back once more closing her eyes.

I hadn't expected our discussion on the matter to be that simple. "You understand?" I asked, lifting myself up in bed a bit.

"Yes," she said, opening her eyes and turning to face me again, "Because I would have done the same thing."

I opened my mouth to speak, wanting to tell her how she should be mad at me for all the mess I'd made, but then closed it again, thinking she'd only protest.

"Like you said," she said, rolling over away from me once more onto her other side and closing her eyes again, "You never thought anyone would break all the curses of the sea allowing Jones to roam free and you didn't even know you had a son at the time, yet alone that your son was stubborn enough to devote his life to seeing those curses broken. Plus, Jones was a villain, he deserved to be left to serve a terrible fate trapped between death and life."

I sank back into bed, starring at the ceiling once more. "But it was my duty to not leave him there, to ferry him to the afterlife."

Elizabeth lay silent for a moment and a part of me wondered if she had gone to sleep. Then after a pause she spoke again, "Everyone makes mistakes, Will. You can't beat yourself up over it forever."

I sighed. She moved closer towards me on our bed, snuggling up beside me, her back still turned, "The one thing I don't understand though," she began, "Why are all his tentacles and such gone? Why does he look normal?''

"All curses were broken," I answered, "That includes the curse that made him look part squid, part crab, part whatever else. When the curses broke he returned to his former self."

Elizabeth nodded in reply. I wrapped my arm around her holding her close. I was always amazed at how perfectly our bodies meshed together. I smiled in spite of the horrors we had just spoke of. Lying like that with her beside me I could stay that way forever. I closed my eyes and prepared to drift off to sleep.

Before I got a chance though we were interrupted by a knock at our door.

Elizabeth rolled over on to her back once more and pulled the blankets up, covering herself. She wasn't naked, but she was sleeping in only her undergarments, which to be fair covered almost everything, but her ankles anyway.

"Who's there?" I asked.

"Are you..." Henry stammered, through the door, "Are you busy?"

Elizabeth glanced at me rolling her eyes then looked back towards the door. "No," she yelled towards it, "Come in, Henry."

Our son awkwardly stammered through the door, shutting it behind him. "I didn't know…," he mumbled, "After what Jack said with the knocking… and with a baby clearly… I just… I just wasn't going to open it without knowing."

Elizabeth looked at me and grinned slightly before the seriousness returned to her face. Henry was pacing by the door, fiddling with his hands, mumbling on and really it was kind of funny to witness. Elizabeth pulled herself up so she was sitting on our bed with her back against the headrest. She kept her blankets wrapped around her, but seemed to care a lot less now knowing the one who'd knocked was only our son.

I sat up as well beside her. "What's going on, Henry?" I asked.

"It's just…," he began, still mumbling and pacing, "Barbossa… Carina… just..."

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked.

"Just…," he continued again, no longer pacing he ran a hand along his hair as he spoke, "Barbossa he told me…. Not told… asked me… just..." He put his hands together and started fiddling with them and started pacing again.

"He…," Henry continued mumbling.

"What did he do?" Elizabeth asked.

Henry finally stopped pacing and fiddling. "Maybe this is something I should just talk to dad about?" he suggested, looking towards his mother then quickly switching his gaze back towards the floor.

I wondered what on earth Barbossa had said to him. It didn't seem like he'd been threatened. He didn't seem scared, just incredibly nervous. It seemed like it had something to do with Carina, but what?

"Why don't we go talk elsewhere?" I suggested, getting out of bed and putting on my boots. I was wearing my clothes to bed, not my coat and effects, but just my lighter clothing. We were on a pirate ship no one ever had changes of clothes or night clothing there.

I quickly tied on my bandanna and gestured my son to follow me out of our room. I knew Elizabeth wouldn't be overjoyed at being left out, but if my son was requesting to just speak to me there had to be a reason. Plus I had missed out on too many father-son conversations already. If he was going to request to have one with me I was definitely going to jump at the opportunity.

I led Henry onto the deck of the Pearl. Most of the crew were sleeping below deck so it was easy for us to be alone there. Jack was drinking rum in the distance, but I figured he wouldn't be able to hear from how far away he was. A couple sailors were awake on the deck of the Dutchman, but they too were out of earshot.

I walked to the side of the deck, and placing my hands on the railing, leaned against it, my back to the sea, my front to my son. "What's going on, Henry?" I asked.

Henry stood facing me, but still refused to look at me. His glance remained downward as he fiddled with his hands again. "When I used to get stressed like this," he smiled, "I'd play with the necklace you'd given me and think of how one day I would save you from your curse."

Without hesitation I pulled the necklace from it's place on my neck, the place I had kept it since he'd given it back when we'd first reunited after he had freed me. "Here," I said, holding it out to him, "It's yours again then."

Henry looked up, seeing me holding the necklace out to him and shook his head. "No," he declined, finally looking at me instead of the ground, "It's yours. You should keep it. You're free now."

"Aye," I nodded, "But I want you to have it again."

"My whole life was about freeing you," he said, eyeing the necklace, "That necklace reminded me of my purpose."

"And what's your purpose now, son?" I asked.

Henry frowned. "I don't know."

I waited for him to think before suggesting anything myself. It was important that he came to his own conclusions.

"I suppose," he said after a minute, "It's to right all the problems I caused by ending all the curses. To re-enable some of the curses, the ones that ending them hurt people."

"Then take this," I suggested, raising the necklace towards him again, "As a reminder of your new purpose."

He hesitated for a moment, but I continued to hold it towards him and h soon gave in and tied it around his neck next to the cursed necklace from Shansa that he wore.

"I think I have another new purpose as well," he said, lowering his hand as he finished tying the necklace.

"What's that?" I asked.

"To make Carina happy," he smiled. Then his smile quickly vanished as his gaze once again returned to the ground.

I felt my own smile being replaced with a frown as well. I didn't like seeing my son so distressed. "What's wrong, Henry?" I asked.

Henry shook his head, still looking at the ground. He sighed. "It's Barbossa."

"What about Barbossa?" I asked. I was starting to get a little frustrated, though I tried not to show it. I felt like we weren't getting anywhere. I already knew that whatever was bothering him had something to do with Barbossa, I just didn't know what.

"Barbossa is Carina's father," he stated plainly.

I nodded, eyeing him in a way that I hoped urged him to continue, but I quickly noticed he wasn't even looking at me, his eyes still fixed on the ground. He still wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know nor was he getting to the root of what was actually bothering him.

Henry sighed again. I noticed him almost instinctively grab a hold of my necklace that I'd just given him and started fiddling with it between his fingers and imagined that he'd done so a thousand times before.

"He talked to me about Carina," he admitted finally, after another pause,"About us… courting."

I nodded. While I was a little surprised to see Barbossa concerned about the affairs of the daughter he barely knew, she was his daughter and it did make sense for a father to be concerned about with whom his daughter was going to be spending her time.

I expected Henry to say more, but when he didn't, I realized that he was probably waiting on my response. I contemplated whether to ask him to elaborate on what Barbossa had asked about them courting or to ask him why this had him so worried. I found myself beginning to wish I had more practice with having these kinds of conversations with my son. I wished I was better able to judge what he expected or needed from our current conversation.

"Why does that have you so worried?" I decided to ask finally, hoping I'd chosen the right response.

Henry stopped fiddling with the necklace and dropped it, letting it rest against his neck. He sighed again. "It wasn't that he wanted to talk," he admitted, "So much as what he'd said. He wants me to keep her happy, keep her safe… the usual sort of things that would be expected for a father to say…"

I softly nodded, trying to silently encourage him to continue.

"But then he… he talked about _that_ ," he said, waving his hand in a forward, circular motion as though I was supposed to know what " _that"_ meant.

"That?" I asked.

"Yes," Henry said, "You know… _that._ "

I stood contemplating it for a second before it finally hit me. "Oh," I replied, " _That_." I wondered what Barbossa's position would have been exactly on _that_. _That_ of course I could only assume meant the intimacy aspect of their relationship.

"And what did he say exactly about _that_?" I asked. I was beginning to understand why he'd suggested having this conversation without his mother present.

Henry started looking anywhere but at me, and began to blush an awful shade of red. "Not to do anything before she's ready," he answered.

I nodded, thinking it a fair request, or knowing Barbossa probably more demand than request.

"But," he continued, his eyebrows scrunching as his tone clearly stated that he was confused about the next part, "He said that when she is ready I can just… go for it… cause he wouldn't want me to deny his daughter a take in life's pleasures."

That was not what I had expected to hear. Barbossa was a pirate though—a pirate who did seek life's pleasures and really wasn't used to parenting. To be fair, I didn't have a ton of parenting experience on him myself, but I knew better to tell young adults with raging hormones to "not deny life's pleasures." They would surely face enough temptation to simply give into those pleasures already.

"But to be careful and responsible," Henry added, "And just like that he left, saying nothing more."

I supposed that justified it a bit more. Barbossa wanted his daughter to be happy, but to be happy in a mature, responsible, careful way. A part of me thought that was fair, but the part of me that was raised in a civilized, proper society as well as the part of me that knew my wife, knew that may not be the best advice. A part of me wondered why Barbossa would have even said anything about that to my son though in the first place.

"Barbossa," I replied to Henry, "Is a pirate..."

"So are you and mother," Henry said, cutting me off.

He had me there. "Yes," I answered, after a moment, "But your mother and I weren't always pirates and as such we might not always agree with the pirating ways."

Henry nodded. "Mother always taught me not to ever put a woman in a situation that would compromise her honor."

"A wise piece of advice."

"But I feel l may have already done that with Carina already."

I wasn't really sure as his father whether or not I wanted to know more.

Henry looked downwards again, frowning. "I saw her ankles once," he admitted.

A part of me had to stop myself from laughing. He was so serious, so concerned he'd compromised Carina's honor by seeing her ankles. I suppose in accordance with the rules of proper society he had, but they were ankles. I could barely believe how serious he was about the whole thing though.

"I don't think seeing her ankles is the end of the world, son," I answered, "I don't think she's lost her honor over that."

Henry paused for a moment before speaking again. "It is the right thing to do," he asked, "To continue to wait, to not give into desires, isn't it?"

I nodded. A part of me honestly, wasn't sure whether as his father I cared what my adult son did or didn't do with the girl he was courting, but I knew his mother would care and that alone was enough to fully determine my answer. Not to mention, it was what was proper. That and I knew if we were ever to return to a normal society, a life that didn't involve pirates (as I hoped we one day would), it would only be right that my unwed son and the girl he was courting weren't physically intimate.

"It is the right thing to do as far as Carina's honor is concerned, that's for certain," I answered, knowing her honor may have been the only thing that kept me away from a younger Elizabeth when I was Henry's age. I knew he had mentioned Carina's honor before and hoped that would perhaps help him from doing something he'd later regret.

Henry smiled. "I only want to do what's right by her."

I nodded. "I know."

"Do you think one day we will get married?"

"That's entirely up to you and her, son."

"But if we did get married," he asked, "You'd approve?"

A part of me wondered why he cared about the approval of a father he barely knew, but a much greater part of me was touched that he did. I smiled, wrapping my arm around his shoulders, "Of course."


	19. Talk of Women

A/N:

Firstly, Happy New Year everyone! :D

Secondly, this may matter, but nine men morris is apparently a game that existed back in the 1700s… it was really hard to find such a game other than liar's dice and I just want to go with one that required so much game dialogue. Whether you know the game or not shouldn't matter to the story, but I do apologize if it's not historically accurate to say they could be playing that… I tried, but when it comes to 1700s board games google didn't help much.

* * *

Chapter 19: Talk of Women

 **Elizabeth's POV**

As long days at sea turned into long nights, I held onto the hope that the child growing inside my belly brought. Jones remained tied on the mast and had he been mortal he surely would have died of dehydration. Jack kept a hold of Blackbeard's sword like his life depended on it. I wondered if in part maybe it did as none of us were sure what Barbossa would do to Jack if he got a hold of it. He wanted the sword, that much was clear, though I could never tell if him and Jack were friends, enemies or something in between.

Henry and Carina's relationship continued to grow and Will and I watched as it turned from a young crush into something much deeper. Henry had proven he cared greatly for her when he pushed her out the way at Shansa's lair, taking on her curse himself. We'd watched him stand up to the feared pirate Barbossa and tell him he needed to spend more time with his daughter. That sort of courage was only brought on by love. As we spent even more time on the ships though, I watched their relationship strengthen. They were no longer two young teenagers catching glances at one other while the other wasn't looking. They were becoming more comfortable around each other and more comfortable about showing it to others. They were no longer the awkward young couple walking through our old village, clearly both wanting to hold hands, yet neither knowing when or how to make the first move. Now they walked around the ship together holding hands, smiling at one another, and making eye contact with each other constantly. Even the way they walked side by side clearly said she was his and he was hers.

I smiled thinking of them as I placed a hand over top of my belly. The baby was growing now and my baby bump was now impossible to hide. I was certain everyone knew whether they had acknowledged it to me or not.

As Will joined by my side I looked up and smiled at him, my hand still placed on our baby within my belly. He smiled, but instead of our eyes meeting, his gazed went to my hand.

I felt the baby kick slightly and secretly wondered if it sensed It's fathers presence.

"He's moving," I smiled, looking down at the baby, but speaking to my husband. I sensed the baby was a "he" rather than a "she". This was something Will and I had argued about before. He was insistent there was no sure way to know the baby's gender quite yet and while he very may while have been correct, I insisted that a mother simply knew.

If I were to be honest, perhaps I hoped it was a boy only because a boy would be naturally stronger and thus better able to protect himself on the high seas than a girl might. Though, I was a female and was quite indeed able to protect myself. If it was a girl, I would teach her to be just as strong, if not stronger than any male ever could be. Plus, she would have her father to protect her. No, perhaps if I were truly honest, that wasn't it at all.

Perhaps the real reason I hoped the baby was a male was simply so that Will could have a chance to raise a son. He'd missed out on so much with Henry and I knew he would thrive as a father teaching a young son how to become a man. I could picture the two of them sword fighting in the fields by our home, an indestructible father-son bond being formed, never to be broken. It was something he was still trying to make with Henry. Something that should have come long ago, but the process seemed slower now that they were older.

Henry respected his father no doubt. He confided in him occasionally and clearly cared for him. Yet the two of them still didn't have that father-son relationship I wished they did. And while I selfishly hoped Will could have it all with a second son, my eldest still longed for a real father-son relationship. The respect was there, the trust was growing, and while they did love each other, there was still something missing.

"May I?" Will asked, nodding towards my stomach.

I smiled, nodding, knowing he meant permission to feel my baby- _his_ baby, kicking. "You don't need to ask."

Reaching down, his hand gently grazed my belly.

"Wait," I whispered, sensing him questioning whether to pull away.

A mere moment passed then I felt the baby kick and seeing Will's face light up I could tell he felt it as well.

Will smiled and laughed joyfully. "That's our baby," he whispered, still shocked at the idea, "We made that."

I smiled amused at the sight. "You're such a first time parent," I joked, echoing words said to me by friends in the village where I'd been pregnant with Henry. Now I knew what they'd meant. Come the second pregnancy the miracle of life was still very real, but the astonishment of it all was a bit less. I didn't spend hours obsessing over how there could be a child inside me anymore. Never to say it wasn't still a miracle. It always would be.

"I feel like a first time parent," Will replied, moving his hand back to his side, "I've never really done this before. I missed out on all this Henry." He frowned.

I felt my own smile leave as well. "At least you're here now," I said, trying to lighten the mood, "Fate has given us a chance to do all this again. This time you get to be here from day one."

Will smiledand gently placed his hand on our baby again, "Aye, this time father's not going anywhere, little one."

I smiled as the baby kicked again. It almost felt like reaffirmation that baby understood, though I knew such a thing was not possible.

My smile faded however as I saw a figure behind us turn and walked away hastily, stomping his feet, clenching his fist, and slowly swinging his arms in a very angry fashion. That figure was Henry.

"Henry," I whispered to Will, my head nodding towards the direction where he was walking off. I turned to go follow and speak to him, but Will put an arm out to stop me.

"Let me," he begged.

"Will," I cried, "As much as we both hate to admit it, I know him better, I'm more..."

"Exactly," he cut me off, " You know him better. Give me the chance to know him too."

I nodded. As a mother, a part of me secretly loved being needed. I was used to being the one to solve all my son's problems and a small selfish part of me wanted to be the one to help with this as well. Yet, I knew Will was right. He deserved the chance to be a father. The best way for their relationship to strengthen was clearly for them to spend time together, especially time together when one was in crisis.

"If you need me," I nodded, "Don't hesitate to find me."

Will nodded. He gave me a quick, but meaningful kiss before he turned to follow Henry.

I stood watching him leave and walk across the deck to the port side of the ship where Henry stood facing the sea. I hoped they would both be okay, yet as both a mother and a wife, I sensed there was a good chance both of them had something to say that could and would likely hurt the other.

0-0-0-0-0-0

 **Will's POV:**

As I saw my son standing there facing the sea, frowning as he lifted his fist to punch the ship's railing, he reminded me of myself far too much. I was never one to talk about my emotions right away, I'd much rather stand aside and pretend nothing was wrong all the while letting everything fester inside me until I was about to explode. I remembered a younger version of myself, not much older than Henry was now, hating Elizabeth for her love affair with Jack, letting the anger eat at my insides, all the while missing the fact that she'd never really loved him at all; she'd killed him instead. How quick Turner men were to jump to conclusions.

"Henry," I called, as I neared him.

"It's fine," he said, between clenched teeth, as he turned to walk away.

"Stop," I ordered, grabbing his arm as he tried to walk by me.

He shoved my arm away, but did stop walking nonetheless. His eyes narrowed as he yelled at me, "What could you possibly say right now that could fix things? Deny it as we may, I was never your son and you were never my father. All you did until recently was sire me. As you said yourself you're a first time parent. This new child will need you now. I didn't have a father growing up and I will be quite fine without one now. You're right to put your efforts into fathering this new child. May he never know the sting of growing up without a father as I did."

With the last remark, his anger faded momentarily and I almost swore I saw a tear in the corner of his eye. He quickly shook it off though and I watched his eyes narrow again as he heavily exhaled through gritted teeth.

The words he spoke hurt. Instinctively I wanted to remind myself that nothing had been my fault, I hadn't wanted to leave him, but I knew that didn't matter. Regardless of why, Henry had grown up without a father and what he needed wasn't excuses as to why. He needed a father now.

Henry huffed again and began to stomp away from me. I placed an arm on his shoulder again, trying to stop him. I knew he was strong enough to fight me off if he wanted, I wasn't going to let him get away, but I did want to judge whether he would turn around immediately if even minutely coerced or whether we were past that point.

To my dismay, he didn't turn. He brushed off my shoulder and continued stomping away.

"Henry," I called, stepping in front of him so the only way for him to continue forward was around me.

"Do you know how long I waited?" he began, as his eyes softened and his clenched jaw turned into a frown, "Waited for you to finally come home and be with us forever?" He shook his head, and that I saw that tear that he was fighting to keep inside return.

"All those nights I spend endlessly gaining information on the Trident only to save you so we could be together again. So I could have the father I'd heard so many great tales about, the strong pirate Captain William Turner of the Flying Dutchman. The man who would teach me everything I ever wanted to know about pirates that mother wouldn't share. The captain who I was sure had all these great tales about the sea and battles he'd won. The father who I longed to talk to about things a boy just can't talk to his mother about..."

I watched as he sighed and refusing to make eye contact with me anymore, he turned to walk back to the side of the ship, facing the sea. I turned to follow him.

Henry sighed again, as he reached the ship's edge. His eyes on the ever present sea that surrounded us as his hand grasped my necklace he wore, fidgetting with it between his finger and thumb. "In every scenario I imagined we'd be close, the perfect father and son team," he admitted, eyes gazing towards the sea still, "Never did I envision having to share you with another baby."

There it was the truth. As sure as I was that my son was happy for Elizabeth and I and would love his younger brother or sister, a part of him didn't really want this at all.

I paused, not knowing exactly what the right thing was to say. I didn't have experience comforting my son, or experience comforting much of anyone for that matter. The only person I had ever comforted was Elizabeth, but that was different. It was times like these when I remembered how right my son was, I had missed a lot.

"Henry," I said, hoping the words would find themselves. I turned to stand beside him looking out to the sea as well, but then it instantly felt wrong so I turned instead to face him, even if he still refused to face me. I struggled with what to tell him. How could I make this better? Then I remembered something my mother had told me long ago.

" _I can see your hurt, Will," my mother said, looking at a much younger version of myself. I was merely four years old and frowning over something, I couldn't remember what. "You can tell me whatever is bothering you. You don't need to be afraid of hurting my feelings. I'm your mother, I could never stay mad at you. It's important that families are honest with each other even when it might hurt each other. Just say what you feel, just tell me the truth. A good family needs to be honest with each other."_

I've know idea why that exact memory came up then, but I knew what it meant. It was time to stop dancing around the real issues and be honest.

"Henry," I repeated, swallowing, "You're right."

"What?" he asked, shocked as he turned to face me.

Finally, eye contact. I was obviously on the right track.

Shaking his head, he turned to face the sea once more and fiddled with the necklace even more, but I could tell that he was intrigued with what I had to say nonetheless.

"When I was just a young boy, my mother taught me that families need to be honest with each other, even when it hurts and I don't think we've been doing that have we?"

I waited for him to reply, but he said nothing.

I sighed. "You and I," I sighed again, "We missed out on everything. Your whole childhood."

"All but one day," he said, clenching his teeth again.

I nodded though I doubt he saw, his gaze still intent on the sea. "Aye, and what a day it was," I smiled.

I noticed him smile at the memory as well, but then he quickly caught himself and frowned again. "Yes, but it was one day. That's it," he said, turning to try and walk away again."

"Henry," I argued, reaching out an arm to stop him again.

He brushed my arm off once more, but did stop and face me nonetheless. "I know this part," he glowered, "We've been here before, you're sorry you couldn't be there and if you could have you would have and..."

I stopped him. "And what if we stop pretending that makes everything alright."

Henry paused. "What?"

"I wasn't there," I answered, trying to follow my mother's example by being real and honest this time around, "I wasn't there and whether I wanted to be or not, I simply wasn't. And I will be for this new child. And I'm sure a part of you does have resentment about that whether you're happy for your mother and I or not."

Henry sighed, and returned back to the railing of the ship, laying both his hands on it, staring out to sea again. I joined beside him.

"I don't want to resent my sister or brother," he admitted, as he finally turned to meet my eyes.

"I know," I nodded.

"When the baby's born?" he asked, "You won't forget about me, will you?"

I could not believe the words I was hearing. "No," I shook my head, "How could I? You'll always be my son, my first born, that won't change."

I knew we had had a similar conversation earlier in our journey and wondered how many times I would have to reassure him again and again that he would always matter to me regardless of how many children Elizabeth and I did or didn't have together.

"All I ever really wanted was you," he admitted, "Ever since the first day I met you. I know I said I was okay with the baby, I know you've already told me you won't leave me behind just cause there's a new baby, but seeing mother pregnant, seeing that baby clearing growing in her belly, hearing you and her talk about being a first time father..."

"Henry," I sighed, "I can't imagine how that felt. I'm not a first time father and I never should have said that."

"But you are," he argued.

I paused momentarily trying to find the words. Then I realized the reason I couldn't find words was because actions would speak louder in this case. I turned to face my boy and pulled into my embrace. "I love you, son," I said, hugging him.

"Father," he said, as his head rested upon my shoulder, him no longer fighting the tears that I knew he had been keeping in for awhile, "I do love you, father. I'm sorry I..."

"No,' I cut him off, still hugging him, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you grew up without me. I'm sorry I accepted my fate as Captain of the Dutchman instead of looking for the trident myself so I could have gotten back to you sooner. I'm sorry that you spent so many years searching for your father only for me to come back for you to have to share me with another child. Henry, you are the only reason I'm even free now, I owe you everything."

He shook his head, pulling back and our long hug ending. "You owe me nothing."

I shook my head, smiling, "I owe you everything," I repeated, placing my arm on his shoulder, lovingly.

I grinned to myself. "So tell me, son," I nodded towards Henry, turning to stand beside him and lead him away with me, 'You ever played nine men morris?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Well never too late to learn," I grinned, as I led him out to grab a board and stones and find a place to play under deck. If Henry wanted time with his father, I would happily give it.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Henry sat across from me staring down the board, trying to make his stones line up while preventing me from doing the same. He moved a stone to an adjacent space and looked up, waiting for me to make my move.

I was much more experienced at this game than him and could already tell from how he'd placed his stones he didn't stand a chance at winning, but I wanted him to think otherwise, for now anyway. I wanted to keep this game going for awhile.

I slid a stone over in a way that if there had of been on lookers, they would have laughed at. I could have easily scored a point by moving a different stone and then continued moving it back and forth between two spaces for multiple points, something only a new player would have allowed possible when setting his stones up in the first place. This game wasn't about winning for me though, I was far less interested in the game, and far more interested in taking this as an opportunity to spend real time with my son and hopefully have some more real conversations.

Henry, still missing the obvious place where he needed to move to stop me from scoring multiple points, focused on the stone I had moved and moved one of his stones to stop it from moving further. A rookie mistake. I decided to leave it.

"So tell me, son," I said, moving another stone aimlessly while pretending to put some thought into it, "You and Carina seem to be doing well?"

Henry blushed and I knew that alone was an answer.

"Still in love with her?" I asked, watching him move another stone in a movement that once again made little sense.

"More than ever," he blushed. "The more I get to know her father the more I love her. She's perfect for me, father."

"Aye," I said, this time making a move that lined up three of my stones, I couldn't play stupid through the whole game or he would surely notice eventually that it was intentional. "Point, now I remove one of your stones in turn." I lifted a stone of his that logically didn't give me much of an advantage. I didn't want to completely destroy him on his first game.

"So," I continued. "Is that what you meant by 'longing to talk to a father about all those things a boy just can't talk to his mother about?'" I said, quoting what he'd said earlier.

Henry blushed and I took that as a sign I was heading in the right direction. He moved one of his stones towards the place I had just got my three-in-a-row and I figured he was finally starting to understand the game.

"I love my mother," Henry stated firmly, as I moved another stone in a way that once again didn't really make any sense. "But she's..."

"A woman?" I asked.

He shrugged, focusing on the board again. "Yes," he replied, again making a movement that didn't help stop me from gaining every single point off one spot.

I couldn't keep silent anymore. "Henry, you see this spot here," I said, pointing to the point on the board where my former "three-in-a-row" ,or "mill" as it was called in the game, was made, "If you don't stop me somehow I am going to keep moving this middle piece back and forth until I win. You need to get in there and ruin my mill."

He nodded. I broke my mill apart, knowing now that I'd pointed it out I had to commit to moving back the forth to create the milll again and again every second turn until he stopped me. Normally, I would probably try to stop my opponent from stopping me, but I decided to let him give it a go anyway. I didn't want to let him win, for fear he'd think he was actually good and start betting on the games, but I also didn't want to destroy him so quickly.

I watched him take in my lesson as he moved towards my mill finally. I moved the piece back on my turn. "Point again. Stop me," I challenged.

"Challenge accepted," he said in a way that reminded me of his mother as he moved his stone closer to mine again.

"So Carina?" I questioned, breaking apart my stone mill once more.

"I just… I love her, fully," he blushed again. "I mean I've known I've loved her for awhile now, but it's as though this love I feel just keeps growing, in ways I never thought it possible to love someone before. I just… I want to be around her all the time and I can't be around her without wanting to hold her… her hand I mean," he correct quickly, though I doubted that was what he'd really meant at all.

I eyed him, not for very long at all before he gave in.

"Or perhaps hold her… well more than her hand… not in an inappropriate manner, I would never do anything to compromise her honor, whether Barbossa approves or not… I just… I only mean…," he sighed, looking away from our game and gazing towards the porthole, in the wall beside us. "At night, once the rest of the crew, including you and mother have gone to bed, we've been staying up a bit later alone together often on the deck. Mostly talking, nothing… nothing mother wouldn't approve of… mother always taught me to be sure to keep a woman's honor intact and leave all of … those… whore house type activities for … for wedding nights..."

"As you should," I agreed.

"As I have," he corrected. He was very firm in adhering to keeping Carina's honor and I liked that. Whilst before I questioned whether Elizabeth was right to throw her beliefs on Henry and merely went along with them to please her, now I was thankful I had and was seeing the benefit in it.

"At night though, when it's just the two of us, many times she leans her body against my own and… sometimes… many times… we kiss… a lot."

He was blushing ridiculous shades of red now and yet I knew a younger version of myself would have done the same thing, had I but even the courage to talk about such things with my father.

"I just…," he continued, "When I'm with her I just want to pull her in close and kiss her everytime… is that… is that normal?"

I chuckled slightly, but stopped myself quickly not sure how he would respond to it and knowing how he was so serious. "Very normal," I nodded.

He smiled for a moment, then shook his head. "When you and mother first told me she was pregnant," he laughed, "I couldn't understand why you would spend so long apart and then jump right into having another baby."

"It…," I began, but he stopped me.

"Likely wasn't planned," he stated, rather than asking, "When Carina first told me that I didn't understand how you could… why you would… come home and right away… Now I… I think I'm beginning to."

He brought his focus back to our board and moved a stone again.

"Aye," I agreed, shrugging my eyebrows and shaking my head as I reached to move a stone of my own.

Henry moved a stone of his own again and finally ruined my spot that, had I been playing seriously, should have already caused me to win.

I reached to move another stone of mine, assuming our conversation was over. I was wrong.

"How did you know?" Henry asked, "When you were ready to marry, mother?"

It was fair to say I hadn't expected that and I'm sure my facial response showed it.

"Well," I began, stammering for words, then remembered the flashback I had had of my own mother's parenting earlier.

" _A_ _good_ _family needs to be honest."_

I sat up straight and faced him directly, forgetting about our game entirely. "There was never a point in my life I could have imagined a future that didn't involve your mother though for the longest time I thought said future was a mere dream and our societal positions would deem it impossible. After I finally gained the courage to tell her how I felt, realizing she reciprocated those feelings changed everything for me. I couldn't wait to court it. I hated having chaperons around, if you think your mother is strict you did not know her father. Try even holding a woman close to you when there's chaperons around, constantly eyeing everything. And kissing her… let it last too long and they'd cough."

Henry laughed. Seeing his laughter I cracked a smile as well.

"I would hate when your mother would sneak out to see me for fear she'd get caught and her father would have me hung accusing me of compromising her honor. Yet, a part of me loved it cause it meant we could really be alone without those bloody chaperons.

I never did compromise her honor though, mind you, not once. We may have came close once, but we had boundaries and we stuck by them. It was what was right. She wasn't mine yet to have in the same way Carina isn't yet yours."

He nodded and I knew he understood without me pushing the point any further.

"I knew right away I wanted to marry her," I continued, "Not just so she'd be mine to have, maybe that was part of it, but it can't be ultimately about that, not when you're dealing with a lifelong commitment like marriage. No, I wanted to marry her so we could grow old together, spend all our days together without being followed or hearing how it was time for me to leave. I wanted us to have our own place together and start a family together."

I sighed. "My dream was never to leave you to go pirating, that was the last thing I wanted."

Henry nodded. "I know, father."

I bit my lip in frustration then continued. "I was saving up to get us a comfortable home—one similar to the one you were raised in, I suppose. I started saving up the instant I knew she loved me, the day we officially became a courting couple. I worked overtime like a madman, saving whatever I could, I knew I could never give her a home like the one she'd grown up in, even with her dowry, but she consistently assured me that didn't matter. As soon as I figured I had enough funds, when calculating in some from her dowry, for a decent place I did the scariest thing I've ever done, still to this day..."

Henry gave me a very confused look.

I grinned. "I asked her father permission to marry his daughter."

Henry's eyes widened. "I hadn't even thought about that. Do you think Barbossa would approve?"

I honestly didn't know, but that was not what my son needed to hear. "When you're sure you're ready, you'll have to find out," I shrugged, "But if I can handle asking the governor's permission for his daughter to marry a pirate-blacksmith, I think you can handle a pirate captain."

"Why does "pirate captain" sound scarier than a governor?" Henry asked.

"Because you never met your grandfather," I joked. I grew serious, Elizabeth would have my head if I only put her father down in front of his grandson. "A good man, but he knew I was never good enough for his daughter and that petrified me."

"You weren't good enough for mother," Henry shook his head, laughing. "She always told it that she wasn't good enough for you."

I laughed, shaking my head as well. "Henry," I said, growing serious again, "When the time comes that you're ready to be wed, you'll know. You'll know well enough that you won't be asking your father how to tell, that's for certain." I laughed once more.

Henry grinned, and shook his head again. He wasn't quite there yet, but I sensed soon he would be ready to pop the question to Carina. I hoped when the time came she'd be ready as well.

* * *

A/N:

Wow that chapter took forever to write… anyway… I think this chapter is the influence of watching too many family-centered / romantic TV shows recently… Still not sure if that's a good thing or not…

Next up we shall probably return to the action aspect of the story, but I really wanted to focus more on Will/Henry cause I felt last chapter's conversation alone wasn't enough. Anyway, hope everyone's holidays were wonderful and I'm hoping to start updating at minimum monthly. This new year is going to bring us on quite the adventure here...

Anyway, would love to hear what everyone thought about this chapter. :D Thanks for reading!

And to non-registered reviewers:

Smithy – Thanks for reviewing again! I'm going to try to at minimum do monthly updates now, but hopefully maybe more frequently even? I don't know. I really do try to write Henry as a cross between Will / Elizabeth, but I think when it comes to females and courting them he is definitely more like Will. Hope your holidays went well as well!

ButtKraken – Your reviews always make me smile. Lol . I really did like that "ankle" line though and I'm glad so many people seemed to have as well. Hope youre Christmas/New Year went well too! Thanks for reviewing :D


	20. Worth It

A/N:

Wow it has been forever. And I severely apologize about the delay. Very long story short, I hurt my arm very badly and had to get surgery and everything. Then it still didn't want to heal correctly and was healing very slowly so I had to leave my job and move and yupp just a mess... anyway arm is starting to heal now and is finally at a point where i can type again! So I am so excited and it is time for our story to continue!

Anyway,

Still don't own the song but had to reuse it, you'll see why.

Chapter 20: Worth It

 **Elizabeth's POV**

What would have normally been considered a calm and peaceful night, pregnancy had turned into an obnoxious nightmare. I lay in bed tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling, then the wall, then the door, and then the cieling again... hoping my body would eventually succumb to sleep.

As the baby grew within me sleeping became a difficult chore. Finding a good sleeping position felt impossible and sometimes if I even did manage to do that the baby would refuse to settle, kicking me from a drowsy, barely conscious state back to being almost wide awake.

I looked at Will, peaceful beside me as his chest slowly moved up and down as he breathed in and out. I supposed most pregnant women would perhaps envy and perhaps resent their husbands peaceful sleep when they couldn't find sleep themselves, possibly even waking them for the sake of company. I, on the other hand, was happy to see him sleeping so calmly and did everything in my power to keep it that way. Will didn't always sleep well especially since Jones had returned. While the man still hung above the mast, the knowledge that one wrong move on Jack's behalf could cause him to go free which likely meant the demise of our family, often kept Will awake at night. While I could forgive him for leaving Jones to roam the seas instead of ferrying him to the afterlife, Will seemed to have quite the trouble forgiving himself.

I knew he was also stressed about Henry and was certain that also contributed to him staying up late so often. He wanted to be the father Henry had never had and he was, in my opinion, doing an excellent job at such, but sometimes I knew he doubted himself. Henry was of course apprehensive about the new baby and how that would affect Will's relationship with him and while the new baby presently remained inside me, Will was soaking up as much time with Henry as he could. They would often play games like "Nine Men's Morris" and "Liars Dice" together. I smiled at the thought of him teaching Henry "Nine Men's Morris" remembering a much, much younger Will Turner playing it with me when we were children. I beat him almost every single time.

Quietly, so as not to disturb Will, I got out of bed, giving up on my attempt at sleep and left out the door of our small cabin to go atop the ship. During the day, i wore an old man's shirt and trousers, as my own dress I had brought with me no longer fit. I darent ask where the clothes had come from, not being sure I wanted to know where exactly the crew had precured them assuming likely whatever had happened to their old owner was not necessarily a pleasant tale.

At night, in the comfort of my own bed with Will, I often wore only the top and tonight was no different. It was a longer top and covered more than just the upper half of my body and even though it's length was still shorter than any dress anyone other than a harlot wouldn't be caught dead in, not wanting to risk waking Will, I left my trousers behind and heading above deck in just the shirt anyway. I figured it was still decent enough to not be too immodest.

As I walked above deck, I noticed Carina and Henry a distance away towards my right and both Jack and Philip a distance away towards my left.

Looking again towards Carina and Henry while they would arguidbly make more pleasurable company, I decided not to disturb them. Carina was leaned against Henry, resting her entire upper body on him and Henry's arm was wrapped around her in return. Carina's head rested on his shoulder and Henry's head was placed gently on top of hers. I noticed Carina laugh at something Henry said as she gently pulled her head back and eyed him almost seductively.

Seeing that I almost wondered if I should interrupt them. Then I tried to remember what Will had said to me earlier. Henry was growing up and I had to accept that. One would expect Will to be the one struggling to let his son grow up, having missed most of his childhood, but it was I who struggled. I could lie and say I didn't want to see him get hurt by Carina, and that may be true but that wasn't what really worried me.

No, if I were truly honest with myself, I didn't want to let my little boy go. I had struggled when he'd first left home, but even then I knew he'd always come back between trips. I now suspected what I believe both overjoys and scares every mother. My boy was going to be leaving home alright, likely soon, and this time he wouldn't be coming back. He'd be leaving to start a life and family of his own. While a joyful thought, it was also a painful one. And that was something I had trouble even admitting to Will.

I sighed watching Henry lean in slowly to kiss Carina. I was losing him. It was obvious he now loved another woman more than his mother. It was only right this day would come. It was healthy, normal, to be expected. It wasn't that I wasn't happy for him. It wasn't that I didn't like Carina. It wasn't that I didn't believe this really was for the best and a joyous thing... it was that it was hard.

I sighed. Now I almost wished Will was awake. I was finally admitting these feelings to myself now and as I processed them I began to wish he was there just to have a human to speak to about these things. I contemplating going back under deck and walking him, but I couldn't, not after how long he'd gone without proper sleep worrying about Jones or Henry or the new baby or me. I smiled to myself, Will didn't need to worry about me. I was completely capable of taking care of myself, I thought I'd quite proven that while he had been gone all those years, but it was still nice to have a husband around to worry about me for a change.

My smile deepened as I thought about how nice it was to even have the option to wake my husband up to speak to him. How many nights had I found myself awake while pregnant with Henry, contemplating all sorts of things, wishing my husband had been there to contemplate said things with or to calm my wandering mind? Now he was with me. Now I could choose to go back to my room and wake him. I continued smiling as I placed a hand on my constantly growing baby bump. "You've know idea how lucky you are to have a father nearby little one," I whispered.

I looked up, hearing Jack speaking rather loudly though it wasn't quite in a yelling tone to Philip.

"You know what love does?" he asked, clearly intoxicated, though that was nothing new. "Ruins ya. Destroys ya. Makes ya weak. I personally avoid it best I can."

I walked towards them. Arguing with Jack always seemed like a pleasant alternative to rolling around in bed without a chance at real sleep. Although he honestly did annoy me sometimes, I had to admit sometimes arguing with him was amusing to say the least. Deep in his heart Jack wasn't a terrible person. He was an idiot, but a good man nonetheless... most of the time anyway.

"I disagree," Philip said calmly, looking to the sea as though he clearly couldn't be bothered to hear whatever Jack had to say.

"Sad isn't it?" Jack asked in my direction seeing me near him. I noticed him look me up and down quickly and slightly regretted my choice to forego my trousers for my long shirt instead. I didn't say anything though as his gaze stopped on my face and stayed there. At least he was trying to be decent.

" What's sad about love?" I asked, answering Jack.

Jack walked closer to me and thus just out of earshot of Philip he whispered, "Welp thinks the singing will bring his mermaid back. Meanwhile the breaking of all curses means she wont even hear it. Tried to tell him that. Doesn't believe me."

"Can't say I blame him," I sighed, "If singing could have brought Will back when he was gone I would have never stopped."

Jack squenched his face. "You know once Lizzie..."

"Elizabeth," I corrected.

"I almost found myself in love," he continued, ignoring my correction, "Quickly regretted that. Don't recommend it. A man's one and only love should be his ship."

"Are you talking about Alva?" I questioned.

Jack looked taken aback. "Yes," he quickly sputtered, "Of course. Who else?" He grinned as he held up his rum to offer it to me.

I don't know why, but a part of me sensed perhaps he hadn't been speaking of just Alva.

Shrugging his offer of the rum I turned to face towards Philip who had now walked back to the edge of the ship to get a more direct view of the sea he constantly starred towards. I watched as his lips began to part and knew even before his tune became audible that he was singing again in hopes that his lover would hear once more.

"Can you blame him for hoping though?" I asked more as rhetorical question.

"Did I ever tell you Lizzie..."

"Elizabeth," I corrected again, cutting Jack off.

"Elizabeth," he nodded, "Well at least we're past the Mrs. Turner then, eh?"

"For now," I warned. I was opening up to Jack more than I perhaps had at the beginning of our journey. He was still a dangerous man who's allegiances could change at any given moment to suit his own best interests, but he had been kind to Henry and helped get us as far as we'd got. He also had kept true to his word and left Jones hanging from the mast still. That and Will had been right about what he'd said months earlier; I was hard on Jack. I did in part blame him for everything that had happened to Will when really he had been the one who had saved Will's life. I had once, a long time ago, considered the man a friend, perhaps I could once again. Stress the word perhaps though. I still had quite a few doubts about him.

"Aye," Jack smiled, "You know Elizabeth. Love is a complicated matter... there was once a woman other than Alva you know..."

"If you say it's me, I swear I'll kill you right here."

Jack laughed. "You think far too highly of yourself, luv."

I grinned and rolled my eyes.

"Know what I did with her?" Jack asked.

"The woman you loved?"

"Aye," he grinned, swigging more rum, "I drove her to such madness that I left her aboard a deserted island with nothing but a pistol. That way no one can be breaking any hearts or be driven mad by love."

"A real gentleman," I sarcastically remarked, rolling my eyes again.

"Aye," he shrugged, drinking again, "Left her a pistol, that was pretty gentleman-like."

"You ever regret it?" I asked, honestly wondering.

He responded far too quickly. "Not a bit. Captain Jack Sparrow flies better solo. You know what love does, it weaken you."

"Some would say it strengthens you, having someone else there to back you up, to vent to, someone to care about."

"Someone to argue with, someone to drag you down, someone your enemies can use against you."

I shrugged. I knew we wouldn't be agreeing on this. There was really no point in continue to argue it through.

"Then I fell in love with the selkie!" Jack exclaimed, taking another drink.

"I remember that," I remarked.

"Selkies make excellent lovers you know."

" Yes," I replied, sarcastically, "Right up to the point where they kill you."

Jack shrugged. "If love is responsible for killing men anyway might as well go down with a woman who makes you feel the way a selkie does, at least up to the death point."

"Love doesn't kill men."

"If love doesn't kill men, Jack argued, "What did your husband die for? Why does your son wear that thing around his neck? Why did Barbossa willingly plunge at Salazar with a knife, knowing full well he wouldn't survive only to save his daughter?"

I stood silent, biting my lip, unsure how to respond.

"Love is the one thing that makes a man willingly sacrifice himself for someone else without a second thought to it," Jack argued, "Love kills."

I watched Jack take another sip of his rum and for once I almost felt myself feeling bad for him. Love was responsible for many bad things that had happened to my family as well as others, but I couldn't believe it was all bad. Love had brought heartache, but it had also brought feelings I didn't even know I could feel in both my affection for Will and Henry. It had brought joy beyond belief. I smiled feeling the baby kick in my belly and realized just how much good love could bring thinking of my unborn child as well.

"It's worth it," I said to Jack.

" What?" he asked.

"Love is worth it."

Almost as soon as the words left my mouth, I suddenly heard loud singing from beyond the other side of the ship closer to where Philip was located. It wasn't his singing this time though, it much more beautiful and in tune than his own singing had been. Also, it was that of a female.

"Long ago, years ago!" The woman's voice sung beautifully in perfect pitch,

"Growing soft as an ember,

Things my heart use to know,

Things I long remember."

Philip joined the voice in a duet for the last line as a mermaid rose above in the wave to the side of the ship, the water rising with her, but only where she lay,

"And a song someone sings,

From a time I remember."

"Serena!" Philip yelled their song having finished, as he reached towards her and embraced her.

My heart lightened and I smiled, realizing this mermaid was clearly his missing lover. Carina and Henry rose in the commotion and they jumped up and began to walk towards us as well.

"Worth it," I whispered to Jack.

Jack shrugged and took another swig of his rum, unmoved by the beautiful scene playing out before us.

"Is she...," Henry asked, as him and Carina joined us.

"His missing fish?" Jack asked, filling in the gap.

Carina scoffed at him before I got the chance. "The missing woman he's in love with," she corrected.

I smiled towards her. I liked this young girl whom my son had chosen. I liked how she also wasn't afraid to correct Jack. She almost reminded me of a younger version of myself.

Henry stammered, "I... I was going to ask why she was naked but I suppose that will do too."

"Dont get too excited now," Carina grinned, teasing.

I grinned, rolling my eyes. Maybe I had brought him up too conservatively...

"I didn't mean," he awkwardly replied, trying to redeem himself, "I've just never... Why is... Why isn't she wearing a top? "

"Just enjoy it," Jack shrugged.

I lightly hit his side, hard enough to make my point though.

Carina eyed Jack, clearly unimpressed as well.

Jack grinned. "Mermaid," he explained to Henry, growing serious again. Then grinning he met my own gaze once more. "Elizabeth did you know there was once a time when Henry saw Carina's ankles?"

I sighed. I didn't care about some ankles. I did care about the point Jack was clearly trying to make and that he was making it here and with Henry present.

"The pure indecency," Jack continued, "Did your mother bring you up a pig?"

"Mother, I swear it wasn't like that," Henry protested.

I sighed again this time at the ridiculousness of it all. They were just ankles. Maybe I really had brought my son up to be a little too proper...

"I'd never intentionally diminish Carina's honor," he continued.

"I know," I said.

"It wasn't..." he continued.

"Henry, it's fine. I'm not upset."

Henry nodded almost awkwardly.

"Carina are you upset?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head, her face puzzled.

In the background Philip and Serena's reunion and embrace was turning into a very passionate kiss.

"Lets leave them be," I suggested. It was after all for my sake that they had been separated, the least I could do was help give them some privacy. Henry and Carina had worked together to destroy the trident, thus ending Philip's ability to live and breathe with the mermaids, for the sake of Will's freedom. If not for us they never would have been separated. I dreaded to think of what would happen after their reunion. They still wouldn't be able to stay together. I didn't think Serena could live with us on the ship and Philip still remained unable to breath underwater to join her. No, it seemed in all likelihood this reunion of theirs was merely temporarily and my heartached on their behalf over it. I still stood by my earlier words though. It was worth it. Love was worth the trials and separation and pain. Love was always worth it. Yet, I still found myself feeling incredibly guilty about everything.

We had barely begun to walk away when Philip came running towards the four of us. "There's trouble! We have to help!" he yelled.

"Help with what?" Carina asked.

" The mermaids!" Philip screamed, "Since all curses have been ended the mermaids cursed singing does nothing. Sailors don't respond to it. It can no longer be used to bring the sailors to their death and they've taken to hunting mermaids instead. The navy will pay a great price for anyone willing to capture one then when someone does capture one the navy kills them. They wants control of the sea and for people to stop believing in mythological nonsense. They feels myths and mermaids take away from naval power."

I sighed. "So it seems the navy shall be our enemies once again." This was far from the first time we'd fought them. They had never won and never would.

"Indeed," Carina agreed between clenched teeth.

Jack frowned. "Doesn't bloody change anything now does it?"

"No," I sighed, "But it does mean we will have to go off course for a bit and help defend the mermaids."

" Yes," Philip exclaimed, "Please do!"

"No, no, no, no," Jack argued, waving his arms, "Go and defend the mermaids now and sure we'll stop them for a time, but then the navy will send for backup and before you know it they over power us, the mermaids are dead and we're dead."

"But we..." Philip began before Jack cut him off.

"But!" Jack exclaimed, "Find Poseidon, find a way to reinstate most or at least all the curses but dear Elizabeth's husband's curse... And you reinstate the mermaids ability to curse sailors and defend themselves thus we survive and the mermaid problem gets solved permentantly instead of temporarily, savvy?"

He had a point.

"But what about Serena?" Philip practically begged, "We can't just send her back into that war zone... And what about while we're finding Poseidon? Mermaids will die while we're out searching!"

"And more will die while we're busy trying to fight the navy that may very well overpower us seems as we're one measly ship versus hundreds of theirs..."

He was right. And once again I couldn't help feel like this was my fault. Mermaids would die either way and it was essentially the cost of my family's happiness that caused it.

"You say she's no longer able to curse men?" Jack asked towards Philip, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Who?" Philip replied.

"You're mermaid... Serena?"

"Yes," Philip nodded, though his face was scrunched in utter confusion as he shrugged away Jack's hand.

Jack sighed once more. "Bring her aboard the ship then. We already have a selkie, the vilest villain I've ever met," he said as his head pointed up to where Jones hang, "A pregnant lady and a bunch of ghosts; what more harm could a mermaid do?"

"Can she do that?" Carina asked, " Live on land?"

"This is a ship, luv," Jack corrected, "Not land."

"Not your "luv"," Carina remarked.

"No," Jack grinned, "She's not my love, she's Philip's love."

"But can she breathe without being in the water?" I asked, ignoring Jack sensing what Carina was getting at.

"Can't mermaids turn into humans when they desire and aren't under water?" Henry asked, thoughtfully.

"Did you miss the part when all curses were broken?" Jack asked as though Henry had just asked the dumbest question imaginable.

"At least he's trying to find a solution," I argued, defending my son.

Jack made a face at me, but before he could come back with a stubborn remark Philip answered my question.

"They can live as long as they have both air and water," he explained, "For her to stay aboard the ship we'd need something to put her in, something with water."

"A rum barrel," Carina replied, thinking out loud.

"Rum?" Philip asked.

"An empty rum barrel. There's some below deck, we could cut off the top with a sword then fill it with water and put her in it!"

"Brilliant!" Philip exclaimed.

"Or," Jack yelled, causing an end to the excitement, "We could just tip a life boat, fill it with water and have her follow along there. Much quicker and doesn't require mermaid scales to go in a place I intend to refill with rum whenever we make port."

Philip shrugged. "I'll stay in the lifeboat with her then!" he exclaimed, "I don't mind getting wet and sitting in the water and they'll be enough air that I can keep my head above it." Philip smiled. "We'll go down there you!" Before he could even finish his sentence, he was running off to be with his beloved mermaid.

"One thing I really don't understand about that man," Jack mumerred looking towards the direction in which Philip had run off, "How does one make love to a mermaid?"

"Perhaps," Carina smirked, "Their relationship is based on more than just the physical... something I'm sure you pirates know nothing about." She glanced towards Henry smiling, "But something the average woman tends to value."

I smiled. It was then that I realized I really hasn't spent that much time getting to know Carina at all. She was nothing like her father. I always trusted she was a good match for Henry since I'd raised my son to not settle and the little time I had spent with her showed he definitely hadn't. It surprised me though to hear her in such an informal, nonjudgemental setting and see just how perfect she really was for him. I liked the way they balanced each other. His naivety, which had been seen too obviously that night, perfectly balanced with her spunk. She also seemed quick witted-that she was proving more and more as our conversations with Jack continued. I liked too that she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. She was exactly the kind of woman I wanted for my son.

Henry smiled and placed an arm around her. I noted that was something he wouldn't have felt comfortable doing publicly a couple months ago. Maybe he was growing even if he still blushed at the thought of ankles.

I felt myself smiling, pridefully watching my son with the woman he was courting.

Jack cringed uneasily. "That may be true, but," he exclaimed holding up his Rum, "Least I've got a love that'll never get me hurt, aye?" He smiled, pointing at the bottle.

"Or love you back," Carina sighed.

Jack shrugged and began to head towards the staircase leading to the lower deck. "Refill time!" he announced.

"Maybe we should have left him with the selkie," Henry joked.

"At least he seems happy alone," I shrugged. I wondered If it was true what Jack had said about the girl he'd once loved and then left behind on some island or if he'd made the whole thing up. I wondered if she'd loved him. I wondered if he really didn't regret leaving her and if he really did believe that love wasn't worth the potential cost and risk.

I sighed to myself though realizing it didn't matter. If he wasn't willing to give and sacrifice everything for her it probably wasn't exactly real love anyway. That or he was a total coward and was running from love instead of giving in. I supposed I never would know the truth, but that didn't matter anyway. Jack's love story whether real or fictional had died when he stopped giving into love and instead gave up. I would never give up, no matter the cost and it seemed or so I hoped that neither would Henry or Carina. Love was worth it. It always would be. If Jack Sparrow couldn't see that, that was his loss.

"I should be heading to bed," Henry announced.

I nodded. "I as well," I smiled, Goodnight Henry, good night Carina."

The two of them wished me goodnight in return and I turned to head below deck. I smiled thinking of all the couples and love that filled our ship. Philip was finally happy and with Serena again. His news of the mermaids being hunted disturbed me, but at least we had a plan to help stop it-oddly enough, thanks to Jack. I would never fully understand him. I would never fully respect or trust the man. But I had to admit I didn't fully hate him either... maybe...

I slipped back into bed beside Will, happier than ever to be able to just lie beside him even if he was asleep. After years without that simple privilege, nights like tonight, seeing others so in love around me, made me very appreciative of his presence. I didn't have to go home as I did in the village so often, after seeing a young couple (or even worse seeing a older couple that had the privilege of growing old together) only to be alone at night mourning a love I had but at the same time didn't really have.

I had him. He was right beside me. Quietly, I gently leaned into him. The heat of his body by my own felt so perfect and so right. Smiling, I relaxed and as though the baby knew of its father presence he finally stopped moving and finally my body surrendered to sleep.

A/N

Yay we're back! I forgot how much I missed this until I started writing this chapter finally... anyway r&r please. Hopefully the length helps make up for the delay. More coming soon. :)


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